Swedish Blender

There have been a couple failed attempts to blow up a jet over the North Atlantic FYI.

solvability

It is not impossible that a satellite somewhere picked up and image that may shed some light, so to speak.

cardiomd

Also, China might not have been the ultimate destination. I wonder how many people on any given flight, if upon review, would have problems with the passport. Having two on board is pretty suspicious though, and I'm sure some good detective work is going on behind the scenes.

Thinking back to TWA 800, I remember the three debris fields, but can't remember any description of an "oil slick" on the surface. As probably most of you recall, during the early investigation there were a lot of theories (and I guess some still remain) of a missile launch or other explosion. The center tank was officially deemed the first explosion with additional "fireballs" from the wing tanks. It seems that a narrow oil slick presence would imply, if from this craft, that it was somewhat intact until impact, or at least portions of it.

Seggy

About the fake passports...

RiskandForecast.com | Risk Watch | At least 10 passengers of crashed Air India plane had fake passports

satpak77

Not sure why the fake passports has everyone spooled up. I mean we have illegal aliens crossing our US border by the thousands and nobody is loosing sleep. The 9-11 hijackers had legally issued documents, even if they were "overstays", they had legal/legit docs.

The fake passport issue could possibly be explained by various foreign nationals seeking to leave their homeland and/or conceal their identity for other reasons. I believe those with the fake passports were Chinese, a country that imposes many restrictions on freedom on its citizens. Multiple pax with fake passports was probably one group who all knew each other and for whatever reason did not want their true identities documented as traveling.

Could this be a terrorist event (the crash)? Maybe, lets wait for the facts. Will the fake passports be related to the crash ? I highly doubt it.

Just my opinion.

savall

Agreed. I believe the passports were mostly a coincidence. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of people flying on illegal documents daily for whatever reason.

I think having a discussion is healthy, but the media is really clouding this accident considering at this point there is absolutely zero evidence of what happened.

MrDK

Quote:

Originally Posted by satpak77

Not sure why the fake passports has everyone spooled up. I mean we have illegal aliens crossing our US border by the thousands and nobody is loosing sleep. The 9-11 hijackers had legally issued documents, even if they were "overstays" they had legal/legit docs.

You honestly do not see the difference between "running" across the border between Mexico and boarding a plane with a stolen ID.
I don't think many "running" across the border even carry false ID.
Two passports stolen in the same vicinity and being only two of seven passengers booking a code-share flight.
If eyebrows are not lifting at this issue, then who knows what will catch the attention of the investigators.

savall

I'm sure there are members here who routinely fly through Kuala Lumpur; how likely is it that something could have gotten through ? Is it a pretty secure airport ? Are there sit stamps ?

If it keeps being brought up, it might as well be asked.

JamesNoBrakes

Common misconception. I lived in a border state for the last 11 years and no, illegals are not crossing the borders in that way. The border security has improved dramatically and by and large, people in Mexico are not walking across the border to find a better way of life like back in the 80s, due to the jobs, technology at the border, increase in staffing, and so on. What we do have is a population of illegal immigrants living in the US, but they are not streaming over the border like many want to believe. Smuggling on the other hand IS an important issue.

BizPilot

The news stated the co-pilot had only 2,800 hours total time.