Flight MH370 - Terrorism Without An Objective?

I would like to propose an entirely different direction for the inquiry into the disappearance of flight MH370:

1.That neither the pilot nor co-pilot were involved.

2.That there were breaches of security over prolonged periods while this particular plane was on the ground, either at one or at several different locations, which facilitated the ability of terrorists to prepare storage areas in the underbelly for the intended mission.

3.There were persons hiding in the underbelly (where all of the mechanical and electronics are located.) The number would probably be 4-6 persons.

The minimum number would be 2.

A number of tasks would have to be accomplished which could not be achieved without access to the cockpit.  Hence having at least 2 on board as passengers and the assistance of one crew member would be critical.

This would have to be facilitated over a period of time so that spaces were 'created' in the electronics and mechanical areas in the 'belly' of the plane.

4.The last facility would have been rudimentary breathing devices and either an appropriately insulated area or just extra warm clothing worn by the hijackers.

Number of Terrorists Involved

It would also mean that at least 4 persons-possibly as many as 6 were actually on the plane, two as passengers. They may never have met but trained separately-simply combining and meeting on the plane – identifying each other by clothes, dress code or simply by carrying similar versions of the same book or some other object.

They would have to be sure to gain access to the cabin cockpit area.

This might involve a separate observation 'team' or just one person on each journey (different individuals on each occasion) gathering intelligence on crew in-flight patterns.

This could be greatly facilitated by a member of the crew who had flown with one or both pilots over a prolonged period of time – so at least one crew member would be a considerable asset for such a mission.

If there were no accomplices on the plane it would at least have been necessary to have one crew member as part of the team – this would be the very least required.

If there were accomplices, posing as passengers, this crew member could also facilitate the 'friendly' recognition or identification of each terrorist - hitherto unknown  even to each other.

Elevation To A High Altitude

The purpose of elevating the plane could have been to hypoxiate all of the passengers-ensuring in advance that the automated oxygen masks were cut - or indeed they never operated because they had been disabled from operating.

This would simplify the tasks ahead and reduce the number of personnel required to carry out the mission.

Motivation

This mission, if indeed it occurred, would require a very high degree of commitment and motivation because it involves checking to ensure that all passengers - men, women and children - are effectively 'immobilized' – not a task for the faint-hearted – which is why I say that to invoke this stage of the plan would mean persons commandeering the plane would have to have a remarkably high level of motivation and commitment to whatever cause it is they would be espousing.

Anyone with such commitment would almost for certain ensure that other crew members were also disabled.   So neither pilot, co-pilot nor crew would be required as the hijackers would already have on-board the required skills to complete the mission.

 This would mean that the skills required to fly the plane were already available amongst the terrorists.

Management Issues

As all passengers are unconscious or disabled there are no 'management' issues to attend – thereby freeing up the unknown persons to carry out whatever the prime motive was for the hijacking.

If the objective was solely the plane-to store it, change it's transponder and other identifying marks, then the passengers are of no value – as they were never the intended objective of the mission.

What 9/11 has shown us is that such motivation for religious-political ideals mitigate against safety.

The only critical issue was the success of the mission - at all costs.

Rationale

From a psychological viewpoint, it would be easier to dispose of 239 + persons, hypoxiated, than it would be to kill each man, woman and child, individually.  Apart from everything else, such is impractical on an plane in flight.

For this to be effective, simply flying at a height with no available oxygen and minor technical adjustments for a very definite period of time would complete this task – relieving the hijackers of the trauma involved in 'close up and personal' and in the management of 233-235 (unpredictable) individuals.

The Mission

Such, however would be a major operation involving a considerable number of individuals.

They would have to be carefully selected by a core group.

It would also be convenient to carefully identify someone who would more likely than not fall under immediate suspicion and divert attention away from the real motives – at least for long enough for the mission to be accomplished.   This in itself would require painstaking observation and intelligence gathering – not an easy task for a ( non-State assisted) terrorist group.

The Planning

It is likely that such a mission would require several years in the planning.

It's almost inconceivable – but so was 9/11.

Temporary Security Measures To Obstruct

The point I want to make here is that should this plane continue to reside on the 'missing' list, then every similar Boeing 777 should be immediately fitted with unique new identification codes,transmitting by the millisecond, which cannot be easily replicated.

Indeed, I would go much further for all airplanes but the initial costs of modifications would be so prohibitive as to make such unrealistic, at the present time.

This should also involve an immediate worldwide grounding of every similar 777 for re-fitting or upgrading.

The airlines industry will, in my opinion, be reluctant to implement such a procedure on the basis of disruption and costs with no clear evidence of an immediate threat available.

As I said earlier, the bottom line for the airline industry is profit and unless something else dramatic happens, NTSB will not take any immediate steps to increase airline operators costs on the basis of speculation alone.

My own view is that it that, should the plane continue 'missing' it might be cheaper (in the longer term) to implement such new technologies and new security policy and procedures with immediate effect than to lose the confidence of the air traveling public, if the worst should happen.

OK, Well Where Did It Land - If It Did Not Crash?

I do not know the answer to that question.

The purpose of the above speculation is not to confuse nor waste time nor resources but to alert about the possibility of intended terrorism.

The incident of a plane with 239 passengers and crew going missing for over a week must send up a red flag for vigilance regardless of the ultimate outcome and whether the plane (or wreckage) is eventually found and the causes turning out to be perfectly rational, if not tragic.

Far-Fetched?

After 9/11, no theory , for myself,  is ever too far-fetched until evidence is produced to the contrary.

Because the Malaysian authorities were initially less than forthcoming (the Chinese authorities have gone much further accusing them of being, at the very least, totally duplicitous) it was really difficult to make out exactly what was going on.  Many say that they are still not entirely forthcoming and there is really no way to be sure.
As I said in my first article, before the row about the paucity and accuracy of information from the Malaysian authorities erupted, there is always a tendency to attempt to 'save face' - especially before Indonesia and China in this particular instance.
If anyone is to be 'sacrificed' it cannot be any of 'the protected ones'  (as one French journalist correctly pointed out)  and certainly blame cannot be attributed to aviation nor airport 'security lapses'  - as such would result in public humiliation for those ultimately responsible at the very top of the 'pecking order'.  India is not the only country which has 'Sacred Cows'.
So whatever the outcome or conclusion, no fault will ultimately be attributed to the former nor latter and all blame will ultimately be carried by the pilot and co-pilot.

Should this Marie Celeste of the skies continue to wander through the pages of our imaginations for much longer I will be seriously questioning what the hell we have so many military tracking satellites for if we cannot even find a 777, triangulation or no triangulation.  I also must seriously question the preparedness of developing countries to deal with a real or imagined scenario as outlined in this article because the next time it happens, the 777 could be carrying a nuclear payload - passengers and crew having being immobilized, deposited, and substituted elsewhere.

Update as at 20th March - A Likely Act of Intended Terrorism , In My Opinion
The more new information which is emerging the more I am convinced that this was an act of terrorism -more than just a hijacking gone wrong. 
Let me give my reasoning:
First I am still to be persuaded that either the Captain (the pilot) or His Deputy were involved.
It may have been that at some stage a gun was put to the pilot's head instructing him to change both altitude and direction.  He was given new coordinates.  At a crossroad point he was then given a new set of coordinates.   At this point realizing (perhaps being aware of the likely destination where he was being instructed to ultimately set course for) he inverted the flightpath flying initially at 90 degrees  - straight line, turning due North - a further 90 degrees, then turning West 90 degrees, then due South - giving a total of  360 degrees; if 2 turns were involved, one  arching back over Malaysia then a second either on a bearing  due North or due South)  and somehow managed to lock or disable the controls - perhaps even securing the cockpit while not being in full control of the plane's electronics.)
This would be the only clue he could logically leave about what had happened, should the very worst transpire.
He would only have done this if he himself was convinced, from what was happening on board, that to do otherwise would be the greater endangerment for himself, his passengers and his crew. I appreciate that this sounds highly improbable but, again, until a theory which makes sense emerges, I find the erratic flight behavior otherwise difficult to account for - other than, of course, a complete mental breakdown of either the pilot or co-pilot,whereupon one of them succumbed.


However, it fits my theory of an attempted hijack which - went disastrously and tragically wrong.

So, in my humble opinion, the final destination may well have been exactly due North or South of where the plane or it's debris will ultimately be found.

Mass Suicide Scenario:
More Questions About  Malaysia Airlines'  Systemic Management Weaknesses

(It has been suggested that personal family problems may have caused the pilot to commit 'mass suicide'.  This cannot be discounted  but I still have issues understanding the context and should this ultimately emerge to be a likely cause, I am failing to understand how Malaysia Airlines could not be aware of circumstances which could impair the pilot's capabilities to fulfill his tasks.) 

Even if this loss of an airline with all passengers and crew is not eventually found to be a case of terrorism, it's handling highlight many operational and procedural failings which hopefully the aftermath of this tragedy will attempt to rectify.


On this story, I will now conclude, and leave the rest to the professionals and forensic experts.

Patrick Emek



updated 18th and 19th March 2014