[Peetwo]

MH370 - "Bus stop..do the bus stop.." -  

MH370 - 'On the buses'.

Via the Oz today:

MH370: report not for Australia to reveal says Malcolm Turnbull

In a very disturbing follow-up to today's Oz article, the 'under the bus' Conga line is rapidly expanding.. Courtesy the other Aunty's PM crew :

MH370: Australia kept Malaysia's face saving secret that pilot chief suspect
Updated 29 minutes ago Mon 25 Jul 2016, 7:00pm

Australia knew two years ago of evidence in Malaysia that the captain of the missing MH370 airliner made off with the plane. But the Government kept secret the evidence that suggested that it was a premeditated act of mass murder.

Peter Lloyd

Source: PM | Duration: 5min 6sec
Topics: air-and-space, government-and-politics, malaysia, australia
Hide transcript

MARK COLVIN: We begin tonight with the revelation that Australia knew two years ago of evidence in Malaysia that the captain of the missing MH370 airliner made off with the plane.

But the Government kept secret the evidence that suggested that it was a premeditated act of mass murder.

A senior search official has confirmed to PM that only days after the plane disappeared, there was undisclosed evidence that Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah had practiced a strangely similar flight plan weeks before, on a $25 simulator game.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull came close to confirming it during a media conference today, but insisted it was a matter for Malaysia to reveal.

PM has been told that the evidence of a computer simulated flight decided the search zone off the WA coast, but that too was kept secret from taxpayers.

In a further blow to relatives, PM has also been told that cost considerations saw Australia, Malaysia and China quietly shelve a plan to continue searching for the plane.

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PETER LLOYD: It may not have been his intention, but today the Prime Minister's choice of words made him the first leader of an MH370 search nation to abandon the policy of denial and confirm that there is indeed police evidence that the plane's disappearance was no accident, no mystery at all to the Malaysian government.

MALCOLM TURNBULL:

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PM has been told that it was Australia that crafted the language of the exit strategy deployed last Friday in the communique

COMMUNIQUE (voiceover): Ministers agreed that should the aircraft not be located in the current search area, and in the absence of credible new evidence leading to the identification of a specific location of the aircraft, the search would not end, but be suspended upon completion of the 120,000 square kilometre search area.

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PM has been trying to contact the Transport Minister Darren Chester for a response for the last four days, but so far has received no response

 
The part in bold above??- Sheesh the plot thickens, this bit..

"..PM has been told that it was Australia that crafted the language of the exit strategy deployed last Friday in the communique.."

Coupled with this post from "K" - Au revoir; Muthafuccas. - there is definitely something smelly in Dodge??

Even so.

I find agreement with much of what Byron says, certainly with regard to the ‘official’ involvement.  The machinations of both governments and the ATSB are deplorable.  This further aggravated by the certain knowledge and evidence that under Dolan, the ‘official’ line could not be relied on to act in the best interests of the public.  

I believe we can agree that the aircraft was under the command and control of someone – just who (or what) that ‘someone’ is (or was) is a question which has not been satisfactorily answered. If; and it remains a big if; the Captain was the perpetrator, why not just own up to the fact?  Why continue to deepen the mystery and keep the mystery story ‘fresh’?  It defies PR logic.  The furore, headlines and media attention associated with the last two ‘suicide/murder’ events was over in a short space of time – for the public at large.  The Malaysians had a tailor made, bespoke, perfectly serviceable reason gifted to them, the first time it was mooted that the pilot had planned and executed this tragedy.  So why was it shelved for two years, before appearing as a ‘leak’ from the FBI?   Sorry; just can’t get comfy with that notion.

At a stretch, one could cosy up to the notion that this event was a ‘hi-jack’ and a deep cover story was needed so not to alarm the world at large about the ease, sophistication or threat of the event.  To protect the security and confidence of the travelling public, then, perhaps governments would go to the extraordinary lengths we have witnessed to keep the ‘facts’ secret, that would be a game worthy of the candle.  But for a ‘rogue’ pilot event, they would not throw in the amount of theatre we have seen; they’d ‘fess up and move on; game over.  Maybe ‘they’ shot the thing down to prevent a 9/11 event – who knows.  But only an event of that magnitude would merit the treatment, drama and mystery which surrounds this case.  The Egyptians seem to be managing a search and recovery without all the fuss – as did the Europeans with the GW event – so what’s so special about MH 370 that it needs such a hodge-podge of confusion, deception and window dressing?

It is all too dramatic for reality – too much window dressing – too much confusion – too many conflicting facts and now, with government heavyweights steaming in to defend, obfuscate and deny deep involvement just puts the icing on a very ugly pile of faecal matter.

Let’s hope that the smooth exit strategy continues to backfire. Turnbull’s inherited poison chalice has been passed down to him through many hands which is a fact of life he cannot change – but to ask Chester to hold on to it and not spill a drop – is a fact of life he can change. Credibility needs witness to support it, the only testimony which can, hand on heart, be provided is the fact that the fat is well and truly in the fire now.  The pushing and shoving at the Blame St bus stop must be ferocious.  We shall watch with interest as the ruck develops while the bus approaches.  

Toot toot.

Update to the MH370 bus stop diplomacy: First from the ATSB 'correcting the bollocks' page, watch for the double meaning weasel words (my bold)...

...As Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester said in a statement, the simulator information shows only the possibility of planning. It does not reveal what happened on the night of its disappearance nor where the aircraft is located.

While the FBI data provides a piece of information, the best available evidence of the aircraft’s location is based on what we know from the last satellite communications with the aircraft. This is indeed the consensus of international satellite and aircraft specialists.

Mr Bailey continues to incorrectly claim that the ATSB rejects any possibility that MH370’s disappearance was the result of a person taking control of the aircraft. As the ATSB has previously stated:

For the purposes of its search, the ATSB has not needed to determine – and has made no claims – about what might have caused the disappearance of the aircraft. For search purposes, the relevant facts and analysis most closely match a scenario in which there was no pilot intervening in the latter stages of the flight. We have never stated that hypoxia (or any other factor) was the cause of this circumstance.

Mr Bailey also states that during his experience with a B777 simulator, if the crew were unresponsive, then on second-engine flame-out due to fuel exhaustion the autopilots would disconnect and the aircraft would enter a terminal dive at 1200 km/hr. In fact, extensive testing on Boeing’s (the manufacturer of the missing Boeing 777) simulator shows that after running out of fuel, the aircraft actually stays airborne for several minutes and descends at various rates in a “fugoid”(or wave-like) motion.

It is disappointing that Mr Bailey continues to make false accusations and inaccurate statements in relation to the search for MH370. To determine the search area, the ATSB has worked closely with international experts in satellite communications, aircraft systems, data modelling and accident investigation. This includes specialists from (and who draw on the broader expertise of) the following organisations:

•Air Accidents Investigation Branch (UK)
•Boeing (USA)
•Defence Science and Technology Organisation (Australia)
•Department of Civil Aviation (Malaysia)
•Inmarsat (UK)
•National Transportation Safety Board (USA)
•Thales (UK) - P2 comment - Thales sure has their sticky, multi-national fingers in a lot of pies?? Q/ Why is a multi-national company with many potential conflicts of interest (e.g Malaysian/Australian submarine contracts; Airservices Australia OneSKY contract..etc) associated with any of this?? 

The ATSB’s correction to Mr Bailey’s previous article from 18 January 2016 can be found on this page.

The ATSB has met, on a number of occasions, with the family and friends of MH370 passengers and crew, both in Australia and in Malaysia. Of further concern to the ATSB is the intense personal impact that claims such as Mr Bailey’s has on those who are suffering as a result of this tragedy. - After PelAir & many Estimate hearings since, the veracity of that statement simply beggars belief -  

Ok next in the Oz today the diplomatic duck shoving & obfuscation continues:

 PM’s hands bound on MH370 search secrets

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah.[/url]

[url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/Amanda+Hodge]
South East Asia correspondent
Jakarta
@hodgeamanda

[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/author/e77dda0d0cda6499108d6323ac86ff18/?esi=true&t_product=the-australian&t_template=s3/austemp-article_common/vertical/author/widget&td_bio=false[/img]Australia cannot legally reveal information it may know about the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 without the permission of the Malaysian government, aviation experts confirmed yesterday, as families of victims now suing the carrier pledged to pursue criminal ­action if it were proven the pilot deliberately crashed the plane.

However, The Australian has learned that those families who missed a March 8 deadline to launch legal action would be left with no legal recourse should the disappearance turn out to be a case of pilot suicide/homicide.

Malcolm Turnbull yesterday rejected opposition demands to reveal what he knew about the ill-fated passenger aircraft to families of the victims after New York magazine last weekend cited a leaked FBI report showing MH370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah used a home flight simulator less than a month before the aircraft vanished to practise a flight across the southern Indian Ocean closely matching the route taken by MH370.

The Prime Minister said yesterday: “I’m unable to comment on (the reports) other than to say that it is a matter for the Malaysian investigators when they’re considering their final report into this tragedy. I just note that even if the simulator information does show that it is possible or very likely that the captain planned this shocking event, it does not tell us the location of the aircraft.” Australian aviation lawyer Joseph Wheeler, who represents five Malaysian families suing Malaysian airlines, told The Australian that under internat­ional aviation law, known as the Chicago Convention, the lead ­investigator in any crash is the state where the aircraft was registered, which in the case of MH370 is Malaysia.

“They’re in charge. All other countries, manufacturers and persons that assist that investigation do so by agreement with Malaysia,” he said. Veteran aviation commentator expert Geoffrey Thomas, editor of Airline Ratings.com, also confirmed the gag, saying that while Australia was responsible for the search, given the airline is believed to have gone down in its airspace, “it is a Malaysian investigation and no other party to the investigation may comment unless Malaysia agrees”.

In light of the weekend report Grace Nathan, a spokeswoman for the Malaysian next-of-kin group Voice 370, told The Australian her family and others now pursuing civil action reserved the right to switch to criminal proceedings if the pilot suicide/homicide theory turned out to be true.

• More: Was MH370 a murder-suicide?
  

But the door had closed for families who missed the March 8 deadline for legal action, and families who had accepted payout ­offers from Malaysian Airlines may no longer be covered by ­insurance, she warned.

Under the Montreal Convention on aviation accidents, claimants have two years from the date an aircraft should have arrived at its destination to make their claim for compensation against the carrier. “You can’t start something now because the limitations date has passed but the cases we already have in court can possible be amended to include new information that surfaces,” Ms Nathan said. “If it is proven to be pilot suicide then the insurance becomes void. Malaysian airlines has to pay out compensation and given they are practically bankrupt it would be more bad news. I don’t think families would get any compensation should it be pilot suicide.”

However, a spokeswoman for Malaysian Airline System Berhad said: “MAS has adequate ­insurance coverage in place to meet any legal liability that we may have in respect of those claiming as a consequence of the incident”. Any allegations of pilot suicide were “unfounded and speculative”.

The Malaysian government bailed out the loss-making carrier to the tune of $2 billion following the March 2014 disappearance of MH370, followed in July that same year by the downing of MH17 over Ukraine by surface-to-air mis­siles, killing all 298 people on board.

The Montreal Convention also sets a mandated minimum compensation payment of just under $200,000 for claimants in cases where airlines could not produce evidence to defend themselves — such as when the aircraft cannot be found.

But Mr Wheeler said even if it could be proved that the pilot did deliberately crash the plane that would not change the airline’s liability. He could not comment on its insurance policy.

Ms Nathan said she personally did not believe the crash was pilot suicide but was “prepared to ­accept I could be wrong”.

“For us it’s nothing to do with the money. It’s just the horror of it being some form of terrorism or pilot homicide/suicide is a lot worse for us to stomach than it being an accident.”

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau yesterday rejected claims made by Australian pilot Byron Bailey that Fugro, the Dutch company contracted by ATSB to conduct the underwater search, believes they are searching in the wrong place. It also said data allegedly recovered from the home simulator did not prove Captain Zaharie plotted a course to the southern Indian Ocean while piloting MH370 or intended to crash the plane, though the simulator information showed “the possibility of planning”.   

Ahh yes the old: "..we're sworn to secrecy, bound by international conventions, agreements and the independent principles of ICAO Annex 13 (& now 19)..."

Strange how Malcolm & the Murky Mandarin's minions revert to that kind of rhetoric only when it suits, because in reality Australia is that far removed from being anywhere near conforming to the ICAO Annexures (in excess of 3000 notified differences) that for a supposedly 1st world aviation nation we're a monumental disgrace (e.g. See - here - for the 10 pages of notified differences to Annex 13). Shame on you Malcolm for you now own this..



Much, much MTF...P2