I seriously doubt it's MH370....

It's the NY Post, so it must be true.
 
I'm curious if its possible to have spoofed the alleged known flight path beyond the last ACARS traffic and send the jet in the opposite direction with no one the wiser? Was this a hijacking for ransom gone bad? And, if not MH370, what other jet could it be? That really wouldn't be far off from the plot in a novel I read last year.
 
wilkersk said:
And, if not MH370, what other jet could it be? That really wouldn't be far off from the plot in a novel I read last year.
Click to expand...

Article doesn't say it was a jet. Just a fuselage with a bunch of skeletons inside. That could be a lot of things.

A bit hard to believe the fuselage winds up in the Philippines while a piece of flap shows up on the other side of the IO.
 
My money is on this story is in no way true at all and we snopes it later and find out the media is running with a story they found on a fake news site

Just feels like that at this point
 
Fearless Tower said:
Article doesn't say it was a jet. Just a fuselage with a bunch of skeletons inside. That could be a lot of things.

A bit hard to believe the fuselage winds up in the Philippines while a piece of flap shows up on the other side of the IO.
Click to expand...

It could be a plane missing since WWII.
 
The witness said the pilot's skeleton still had the headset on the head. Crashing in the jungle doesn't at least pull the headset off? And more likely break the airplane into bits?
 
Well it should be pretty obvious if it's a 777.
 
When it comes down to planes that have disappeared without a trace MH370 has lots of company. I watched a documentary about these guys who were trying to find the lost squadron of Navy TBM's that disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. The first aircraft they located was a Cherokee. Next they found a Navy TBM but it wasn't one of the lost ones. Then they found a whole group of TBM's but none of them were the "lost" ones either. Turns out there are an awful lot of Navy TBM's on the bottom of the ocean.
 
Dan Thomas said:
The witness said the pilot's skeleton still had the headset on the head. Crashing in the jungle doesn't at least pull the headset off? And more likely break the airplane into bits?
Click to expand...

OK, I've seen this movie already...

701_5.jpg


Romancing the Stone (1984)
 
Agreed, not MH370. I read the article, it seems like there isn't enough detail and even if somehow the plane came down in one piece it wouldn't have had such a minor impact on the teenager.
 
it's great how they are saying this really doesn't mean anything but then refer to it as the pilots simulated suicide run. F the media.
 
Why would he feel the need to build and fly a simulator at home? My buddy flies 767s (Captain/Check Pilot, like this guy) and he said back when this happened that the last thing any airline captain wants to do is go home and fly routes on a simulator. To him, that was a big red flag. Looks like that may have been a very astute observation.
 
Last edited:
Definite echos of 9/11 "pilots" practicing their routes on Microsoft FS.
 
The new forensic info from the computer does make " captain's plan" look like the best theory now.

I just wonder why it took so long to discover that he had simulated that route. It seemed like an obvious thing to check.
 
As an avid flightsim, electronics and PC enthusiast (from the age of 15, I'm now 50) and builder of my own PC flight simulators for years (multi-monitor, yoke, pedals, throttles, TrackIR, homemade switch/pushbutton panel, etc), long before I ever took my first flight lesson...........THIS IS THE MOST RIDICULOUS LOAD OF CRAP I HAVE EVER HEARD!

Thankfully, I have never felt suicidal, but if I ever did, the LAST thing I'd do is "practice" a suicide route on my home simulator. And I seriously doubt that an Airline Captain of his experience level would need to do so either. I'm just a private pilot, but on my PC I've flown all kinds of routes, weather conditions, emergency procedures and other scenarios, some I'd never attempt in a real airplane! Not to mention the whacky things just for fun.

For me, the enjoyment of building and tweaking my own flight simulator is a passion! I also enjoy sharing it with friends and family during parties and family gatherings.

So, the FBI found a "similar route" on his FSX PC. Big deal! The media jumps all over that and label it.. "a practice suicide route", with zero evidence. What an insult.
 
Last edited:
RotorDude said:
Definite echos of 9/11 "pilots" practicing their routes on Microsoft FS.
Click to expand...

I don't specifically recall that, but that makes some sense because they were inexperienced, and they were actually trying to get someplace specific.

An experienced airline pilot who intended to commit suicide by crashing his aircraft in the middle of the ocean doesn't need to practice the route. His biggest issue would be other crew members, not finding someplace to crash. Most anyplace would work, right?
 
"In 2014, the president of flight simulation software developer PMDG, Robert Randazzo told CNN that Zaharie “was well known to many in the flight simulation community because he had developed an online presence in which he dedicated many hours of his time to promoting the enjoyment of flying generally, and flight simulation specifically”.

In fact, he posted several online tutorials to YouTube.

http://blogs.wsj.com/indonesiarealt...aysian-pilot-insulting-says-simulation-maker/
But in a statement posted on website of the simulator’s manufacturer, Precision Manuals Development Group, CEO Robert Randazzo said the pilot’s avid interest in flight simulation should not be construed as a sign that he was deliberately involved in altering the aircraft’s course.

“As is always the case when something cannot be explained, there are many folks attempting to explain the event to the public using theories, guesswork and good, old-fashioned imagination,” he wrote.

“Some of these commentators have focused on Captain Shah’s love of the flight simulation hobby as a suggestion that he may somehow have played a role in the disappearance of MH 370. Such wild conjecture is not only insulting to those of us who wear or have worn the stripes of a captain, but has the potential to be damaging to the flight simulation hobby.”

“Captain Shah was well known to many in the flight simulation community because he had developed an online presence in which he dedicated many hours of his time to promoting the enjoyment of flying generally, and flight simulation specifically,” Mr. Randazzo wrote.

“In a manner of speaking, our community appears to have lost one of our own by virtue of the fact that he was also an accomplished 777 captain flying for a well-respected airline.”
 
redtail said:
“As is always the case when something cannot be explained, there are many folks attempting to explain the event to the public using theories, guesswork and good, old-fashioned imagination,” he wrote.

“Some of these commentators have focused on Captain Shah’s love of the flight simulation hobby as a suggestion that he may somehow have played a role in the disappearance of MH 370. Such wild conjecture is not only insulting to those of us who wear or have worn the stripes of a captain, but has the potential to be damaging to the flight simulation hobby.”

“Captain Shah was well known to many in the flight simulation community because he had developed an online presence in which he dedicated many hours of his time to promoting the enjoyment of flying generally, and flight simulation specifically,” Mr. Randazzo wrote.
Click to expand...
Very true and worth pointing out that Robert was himself a 121 Captain before he started PMDG.
 
Having the route programmed in his sim may have just been a way to memorize the sequence of waypoints.
The guy who mentors my sons robotics team does robotics for a living. Also has all the kits and controllers for the different teaching robots systems at home. Some people go flying as a job, for others it's their life. If he had ownned an aerobatic biplane, the dumbass press would be reporting that he owned it 'so he could practice plunging a plane into the ocean'.
 
If the satellite data that was used to determine the aircraft's actual route was correct and if the data points from the sim are in fact accurate then looking at the map overlay of the two routes, the only logical conclusion is that the pilot planned a suicide run. There really is no other explanation.

21-mh370-zaharie-flight-sim-route.w529.h352.jpg
 
redtail said:
Thankfully, I have never felt suicidal, but if I ever did, the LAST thing I'd do is "practice" a suicide route on my home simulator.
Click to expand...

The key words being that you've never felt suicidal. You're trying to get inside of the head of something that you don't understand. I've never been suicidal, either, but I have read that people who are suicidal do practice before they actually do it. For example, putting an unloaded gun to their heads and pulling the trigger.

That German plane that crashed a few years ago when the co-pilot took over and flew it right into the ground - didn't they find the same thing on his home flight sim?
 
Ted DuPuis said:
The key words being that you've never felt suicidal. You're trying to get inside of the head of something that you don't understand. I've never been suicidal, either, but I have read that people who are suicidal do practice before they actually do it. For example, putting an unloaded gun to their heads and pulling the trigger.

That German plane that crashed a few years ago when the co-pilot took over and flew it right into the ground - didn't they find the same thing on his home flight sim?
Click to expand...
I don't recall anything being found on the German pilot's flightsim. The only thing I remember is something about him practicing steep descents in the real plane (or something like that).

I think you missed my point though. I'd never try to get into the head of a suicidal person. All I'm saying is that it is careless and reckless on the part of the media to associate some random Flightsim routes on his computer with, "a suicide route", when there isn't a shred of evidence that he was suicidal or under medical care or taking medication for depression. The German pilot had a history of mental issues that came to light after what he did. The authorities even found a balled up letter or doctor's note in his trash can, indicating that he was unfit for flight.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/02/europe/france-germanwings-plane-crash-main/

http://nyti.ms/1yEGWMn

Another point I forgot to make about our PC/Flightsim hobby. As a builder of high end PC's for demanding 'games' such as FSX (with countless addons), part of the challenge is the need to constantly tweak and improve performance. As well as the need to troubleshoot PC lock-ups/freezes. Sometimes it's a hardware issue (memory, overclocking, excessive heat/poor cooling issue,etc), or a software issue. MSFS is known for having several bugs over the years.

It is not uncommon to startup the sim, climb to some random altitude, set the autopilot to some random heading, and let the PC run all night (with my monitors turned off) while I'm in bed sleeping. Next morning (or whenever I get a chance) go check it for stability to see if the PC locked up or not.

They searched his home, medical records, Internet search history, etc and found nothing. Is it possible that he did indeed crashed the plane, killing himself and everyone else? Of course it is, but in my opinion, it's highly unlikely that he'd be practicing or even need to practice such on his home built simulator.

Heck, check my FSX/X-Plane/P3D hard drive and flightsim deleted files, you'd probably find all kinds of weird ****, lol. But nothing remotely resembling anything nefarious.
 
Last edited:
The article in the New York
PeterNSteinmetz said:
Link to the original New York Magazine article.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/07/mh370-pilot-flew-suicide-route-on-home-simulator.html

Now if we can just find a link for the original document they refer to.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link to the New York Magazine article. I'm guessing that the original document that you want to see is the "confidential document from the Malaysian police investigation" mentioned in the Magazine article. I think we're out of luck on that.

I checked, and the Malaysian government has not mentioned the simulator yet in its interim reports

Their interim reports give only two sentences to a police investigation:
  • Investigation details from the Polis Di Raja Malaysia (PDRM) - Royal Malaysian Police.
  • These were statements obtained from the next of kin and relatives, doctors/care givers, co-workers, friends and acquaintances; financial records of the flight crew,
They don't mention the FBI's investigation of the computer, and they don't mention the simulator.

The FBI finished its investigation in May 2014, just a couple of months after the crash. I thought it was interesting that a US official was claiming at the time there was nothing sinister on the computer:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/03/20/malaysia-fbi-analyze-missing-pilots-simulator.html
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlin...-airlines-plane-in-captains-flight-simulator/
 
Last edited:
I think he was a good man, IMHO.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36761491

"I've got to lend him a voice. He's gone. If I don't talk on his behalf, if I don't portray him as the real person that he was, nobody will be any the wiser."
"It was very hurtful," she said. "It added to the stress of the loss. A very close brother of mine is missing, and on top of that I have to contend with all the accusations. It's a very difficult situation."

"Investigators have dug deep, looking for any kind of motive. They've found nothing.
Zaharie had no money problems, no mental health problems, no marriage problems, no drug or alcohol problems, no history of odd behaviour. They even checked if he'd recently taken out life insurance and analysed his body language going through security that day (he's on CCTV). Zilch."
 
Last edited:
redtail said:
Heck, check my FSX/X-Plane/P3D hard drive and flightsim deleted files, you'd probably find all kinds of weird ****, lol. But nothing remotely resembling anything nefarious.
Click to expand...

Check mine out; you will be 100% confident that I am a suicidal lunatic.

I let my kids fly my x-plane all the time. They love to crash the plane. They hardly want to even get airborne before they want to flip it over and/or aim for the ground.

I don't know why they love to crash it so much, but I probably have hundreds of self-inflicted airplane crashes "in my name".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top