[slats11]

Thanks Ventus. No apology required. I agree that SBIRS likely has the capability to track jets.

2 streams of exhaust gas would create 2 linear areas of greatly increased temperature - the relevant background would be the earth's surface (and not the adjacent atmosphere).

I don't know how quickly this exhaust would equilibrate / dissipate into the ambient atmosphere. Say this exhaust completely equilibrates with the ambient atmosphere in 1 second. Cruise approx 1000km/h = 278 m/sec. So 2 heat signatures that are 250-300m long, are parallel, and are moving at 1000km/h.

Given terrorist threats and a long history of airline bombings, I expect people would be listening out for ATC that had lost a large jet. In a post 9/11 world, my guess is that SBIRS would be looking for a lost jet.


Don't really know what to think about the Maldives sighting. Odd there is no paper trail of that Dash being off course. On the other hand, there would have to be a lot of people involved in any sinister explanation why MH370 ended up there. Sooner or later word would get out - look at Snowden. There would be a less damaging way of stopping any shipment. The risk seems far too high.

There were a number of "sightings" by people on the ground - the oil rig worker in SCS, people near Penang, that female sailor who gave a vague story months later. and the Maldives. At least some of them must be are wrong, and my suspicion is the Maldives sightings are also wrong.