Some Observations/Questions On This Missing Plane Search......

[global1]

1. With the electronic and technological world that we live in today - I'm amazed that the Black Box only has approximately a 30 day window of operation. They say that they are racing to find this - because they fear that in another 12 - 15 days the battery will die making the finding of the potential wreckage even more difficult. Also - with respect to this Black Box - this seems to be the only thing on a fallen plane that would produce any kind of signal. Now they've gone through this with the Air France disaster in the past - I'm surprised that planes aren't equipped with more electronic devices (a lot of them - they don't have to gather data) that transmit electronic signals - perhaps activated upon coming into contact with water. Just think if there were 25 or 50 small transmitters of some sort that when coming into contact with water - would begin to emit signals. Surely being only transmitters and not collectors of info/data - their battery life would be extended well beyond that of the so called - life of the battery in the Black Box. I'm thinking that we have people smart enough to come up with such devices. Maybe they'd would only be on planes that have routes over water.

2. Remember the Japanese tsunami a few years back. A lot of debris was tossed to the sea as a result. As I recall there was accounts that some of it finally washed up on shore in the Northwestern United States. I also heard accounts of debris fields in the ocean that become sort of a catchall for all sorts of debris that is thrown into or finds its way somehow in the ocean. I think I heard them referred to as 'dead zones'. The question here is - are there similar dead zones - debris zones in the Indian Ocean - where they are searching for this plane? Could this be what they are coming across with all these satellite pics?

[Skink]

1. why doesn't the box transmit in real time

that's my question

[Agschmid]

2. It's a good one.

It would be expensive but I certainly feel it's worth the expense.

ACARS is already transmitting (apparently) wether he company pays for the data or not. It would be good to have more systems like that in place.

Of course I understand that if the electric system is turned off it's likely these would be off as well so I'm not sure it would help in a situation like this.

[longship]

3. Those anomalies.

There are anomalies in any such event.

This is a very messy affair, that apparently happened in a very remote area of the globe.

I am satisfied that there is technology available to at least be able to make some determinations, albeit with some margin of error. And there may not be a satisfying outcome.

Flying is a safer mode of travel than any other mode. But when a large airliner crashes, with many dying, it makes big news, as it should. The investigation teams are all about finding out what really happened. Why? To make air travel even more safe.

I am more than willing to let this story pan out, even though it might likely be a horrific outcome, even a forever uncertain one.

But if one thinks that those anomalies will go unacknowledged, I do not know what to say to that other than, "We will see. But why wouldn't airlines want the extreme expense of this search and recovery to be less?"