DQA149: 40 miles off course, low altitude, no record of it: is this odd?
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DQA149: 40 miles off course, low altitude, no record of it: is this odd?
I could really use an expert view on this one - thanks in advance for all professional assessments:
Official explanation for Mar.8, 2014 Maldives eyewitness sighting (per CAA head Ibrahim Faisal, per scmp.com, July 4) is now that this was actually DQA149, Malé to Kaadedhdhoo, with a stop at Thimarafushi, and that Kudahuvadhooans saw this flight returning from a large course deviation.
Additional info:
- Sunrise Kudahuvadhoo Mar.8 was at 6:15 UTC, about same time as sighting
- Winds were blowing E-to-W, albeit light (per earth.nullschool.net)
- Eyewitness consensus: very low altitude (could make out door, e.g.)
- DQA149 was a DHC-8 (50-seater)
- Flightstats.com has scheduled flight going opposite direction, with no stop
- CAA head claims ATC records document landing at Thimarafushi at 6:33 UTC
- airline can't corroborate: CAA claims records likely "don't go back that far"
One pilot has expressed to me the following concerns:
- 40nmi off course (& low enough for witnesses to see door, be annoyed by noise, etc.) is anomalous enough to trigger EXTRA paperwork
- yet paperwork that should be available for even a NORMAL flight (logbook, e.g.) are absent - doubly odd
- that flight would be N-to-S (with stop at Thimarafushi) when schedule was S-to-N (with no stop) is bizarre
My challenge to you is simple: do you agree with this pilot's assessment, or disagree - and why? Huge thanks in advance for your informed judgment.
For the record: I am not trying to sell/endorse any particular speculation - merely trying to collect hard facts and clear thinking. In particular: I am NOT considering the plausibility of the witness sighting being MH370 - I wish to consider STRICTLY the plausibility of it being DQA149.
Official explanation for Mar.8, 2014 Maldives eyewitness sighting (per CAA head Ibrahim Faisal, per scmp.com, July 4) is now that this was actually DQA149, Malé to Kaadedhdhoo, with a stop at Thimarafushi, and that Kudahuvadhooans saw this flight returning from a large course deviation.
Additional info:
- Sunrise Kudahuvadhoo Mar.8 was at 6:15 UTC, about same time as sighting
- Winds were blowing E-to-W, albeit light (per earth.nullschool.net)
- Eyewitness consensus: very low altitude (could make out door, e.g.)
- DQA149 was a DHC-8 (50-seater)
- Flightstats.com has scheduled flight going opposite direction, with no stop
- CAA head claims ATC records document landing at Thimarafushi at 6:33 UTC
- airline can't corroborate: CAA claims records likely "don't go back that far"
One pilot has expressed to me the following concerns:
- 40nmi off course (& low enough for witnesses to see door, be annoyed by noise, etc.) is anomalous enough to trigger EXTRA paperwork
- yet paperwork that should be available for even a NORMAL flight (logbook, e.g.) are absent - doubly odd
- that flight would be N-to-S (with stop at Thimarafushi) when schedule was S-to-N (with no stop) is bizarre
My challenge to you is simple: do you agree with this pilot's assessment, or disagree - and why? Huge thanks in advance for your informed judgment.
For the record: I am not trying to sell/endorse any particular speculation - merely trying to collect hard facts and clear thinking. In particular: I am NOT considering the plausibility of the witness sighting being MH370 - I wish to consider STRICTLY the plausibility of it being DQA149.
