Something I haven't seen mentioned re MH370

[IDemo]

As it stands, the odds are overwhelming that the disappearance took place under the guidance of someone at the controls, whether or not it was the crew or hijacker(s).

Not to try to pin blame on the pilot or anyone else without more of the facts in place, but DU has joined the rest of the Internet in speculation.

The pilot, Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, had a flight simulator at home that he had enjoyed in his off hours. This is apparently not an unusual thing for pilots, although I'm not sure why you'd want to sit in front of a sim after doing so for multiple hours/days on the real thing. His friends kidded him about taking his work home.

Would it not be useful to examine the simulator to see if any record existed of the flight patterns that were flown by Shah? He may well have just "flown" from Boise to Denver, but if the route that MH370 ultimately took happened to be on the sim and was not erased, it might make the search suddenly much easier. If they only find Sioux Falls to San Diego, nothing lost, right?

http://www.thestar.com.my/~/media/Images/TSOL/Photos-Upload/From%20DCX/zaharieahmadshahphotos8.ashx?w=620&h=413&crop=1&

[upaloopa]

1. On the simulator he most likely flys a fighter jet or something

other than a commercial airliner

[IDemo]

3. No, it was set up as a 777

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/mh370-pilot-an-aviation-tech-geek-spends-off-days-on-flight-simulator-at-ho

[warrior1]

2. could be he really loved flying

[ecstatic]

4. That was my impression. He has 33+ years of experience

That's the type of pilot I would want on a flight I was on. If anything mechanical happened, he would be their best bet of getting the passengers to safety. The playboy co-pilot is the wild card.

[okaawhatever]

5. they have searched his home. That was on about day 3. nt

[IDemo]

6. They didn't say whether the flight sim had been examined or not

That would likely have been a point of interest, however.

[okaawhatever]

8. Here's some updated info:

Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah
Police have been outside his Malaysia home every day since the plane vanished, a source told CNN. But they have not gone inside.
If they did, they might find a flight simulator there. In a YouTube video he apparently posted, Zaharie can be seen sitting in front of one.
And in a German online forum for simulator enthusiasts, X-Sim.de, there is a post from November 2012 in his name that says he built it himself.
"About a month ago I finish assembly of FSX and FS9 with 6 monitors." The message was signed Capt. Zaharie Ahmad Shah BOEING 777 MALAYSIA AIRLINES.
FSX and FS9 are over-the-counter flight simulator games made by Microsoft

As with Zaharie, not much is known to the public about Fariq. But Quest was not the only guest who had joined him in the cockpit.
Passenger Jonti Roos got an invitation to check out the cockpit during a flight from Thailand to Malaysia -- one that Fariq was flying with another pilot.
She took photos and said Farid and his colleague smoked in the cockpit. After MH 370's disappearance, she reported her experience to journalists.
Malaysia Airlines was aghast. "We are shocked by these allegations," the airline said.
Such a practice would be illegal on U.S. carriers after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, but not necessarily so on international ones, Quest said.

Exploring the possibilities

Does Roos' story open up the possibility that a third or fourth person could have joined Zaharie and Fariq in the cockpit.
Former airline Capt. Mark Weiss suspicions appear to lead in that direction.
"There seems to be a real trail that leads to something taking that aircraft, somebody taking that aircraft off its intended flight path. That doesn't just happen by accident," he said.
Like most everything surrounding flight MH 370, that's yet unknown.
Other signs of life have also been spotty or missing -- radar images, a signal from the plane's transponder.
That device is situated between the pilots and can be disabled with a twist of the wrist. For a pilot to turn it off would seem reckless because the information it transmits gives the plane vital protection, Weiss said.

And the apparent lack of visibility on radar? "AirliAnd the apparent lack of visibility on radar? "Airline pilots are not trained for radar avoidance," said aviation expert Keith Wolzinger, a former 777 pilot. They like to stay on the radar, because -- again -- it protects their plane. Only military pilots, he said, are keen on avoiding radar.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/14/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-pilot-profiles/

[morningfog]

7. Although I have read later reports claiming that his home was not searched.