Malaysia Flight MH370, the possibilities?

A Malaysia Airlines 777-200ER taking off last year

It has now been days since the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft disappeared whilst en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpa however the mystery over its disappearance is still present with no sign of the aircraft found. So what are the options? What could have possibly happened to the aircraft?

Terrorism

Perhaps it is possible that the aircraft could have been the target of a terrorist attack with a bomb smuggled on board. People will remember the tragic bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie which saw the complete destruction of the aircraft killing everyone on board as well as some on the ground. There has already been concern about passengers travelling with stolen stolen passports however the authorities have ruled out their involvement in terrorism.

Hijacking

In a post 9/11 world it is now much more difficult to launch a hijacking upon an aircraft as new procedures have been brought in to make it more difficult. Cockpit doors are now rarely left unlocked so entry would be even more difficult for a hijacker. However if there was a failing of this then a hijacker could have made their way into the cockpit and taken control of the aircraft. Another possibility would be that there could have been a struggle which resulted in the aircraft crashing, such as the fourth 9/11 flight heading for the White House that ended up crashed in a field.

Structural Failure

The aircraft was less than twelve years old which is not very old, however passenger planes are used extensively with cyclic stresses potentially leading to cracks forming and structural failure later. As a result, checks are regularly undertaken on aircraft for cracks and any found are dealt with. The Boeing 777 is widely regarded as a safe aircraft with a good safety record overall. Due to the altitude and a pressurised cabin an explosive decompression could occur if a crack gave way and lead to the complete destruction of the aircraft or just loss of various systems.

Mistaken identity

In 1988 Iran Air Flight 655 was mistaken for an Iranian F-14 fighter aircraft as it flew towards a US Navy Guided Missile Cruiser en route to Dubai International Airport and was shot down as a result. This resulted in a complete loss of the aircraft. It is unclear if any warships were in position in the area at the time that could have mistaken the aircraft and also, unlike Flight 655, there is no war occurring nearby.

Additional Points

There are also other factors to take into account such as the fact that no Mayday was called at any time which may or may not rule out some of the options above. Also, the delay between when the aircraft was lost on radar and the time when it was reported was an hour and twenty minutes which is a considerable amount of time and seems to be somewhat suspicious. Until the aircraft or parts of the aircraft, especially the black boxes, are found then determining the cause of the disappearance is highly unlikely to be found.

The Return of the airship?

In Cardington, Befordshire the world's longest aircraft has been unveiled and promises to cause a revolution. The aircraft, known as Airlander is being manufactured by UK company Hybrid Air Vehicles and is expected to be released into the market to fill a variety of roles.

Interestingly, the hybrid design of the airship means that 60% of the lift is provided by the helium filled balloon and the final 40% is provided by the shape of the balloon acting as an aerofoil. A benefit of using helium also is that it is inert which means that no repeat of the Hindenburg disaster is possible due to it not being possible for helium to catch fire.

The Airlander has the ability to land anywhere as long as it is reasonably flat and has enough space, this opens up the aircraft for use in disaster relief situations where airports might have been destroyed and remote areas cut off. Another benefit of this is that cargo can be delivered into the most remote areas, such as remote desert oil fields which, another market for the aircraft to sell to.

It is claimed that Airlander is 70% more green than current cargo aircraft with the ability to travel for days without refuelling, reaching far across the world at a time.

The US military had initially placed an order for the aircraft but due to the US budget squeeze it has had to cancel the project. The project would have seen Airlander flying at 20,000ft to gather intelligence in war zones. Due to the aircraft's endurance and range, Airlander could have stayed in one position for a long time studying movements on the ground and relaying the information back to base in real time.