# Any realistic chance that that the missing plane landed safely & all the passengers are still alive? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 16, 2014, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819 "2014-03-16T04:31:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/21 "2014-03-16T17:26:21Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > There aren’t many places you can land a 777 without anyone noticing. There aren’t many places you can _fly_ a 777 without anyone noticing, either. Except over open ocean, where modern radar & satellites still can’t cover everything. Make no mistake, there is ZERO chance of the plane having been safely & secretly landed anywhere on the ground. That entire concept is impossible. Perhaps that was the hijackers’ intent (if that’s indeed what actually happened) and perhaps the passengers revolted in a United 93 style scenario – but until the wreckage is located (which may never happen, but let’s not give up hope) we may never know for certain what really happened. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/22 "2014-03-16T17:30:23Z")
Is it _impossible_ that the passengers are still alive? No. Is it wildly improbable? I’d say so. Right now, the plane is most likely at the bottom of the ocean. As well as all the people. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/23 "2014-03-16T17:42:53Z")
Sorry, but I’m sticking with impossible. Here’s the question everyone must ask: “Why?” Why haven’t there been any eyewitness sightings of a mysterious plane over land? SE Asia’s the most crowded place on Earth. Why haven’t there been any mysterious radar trackings? The coastlines of all major countries, including Australia, are watched night and day for obvious post-9/11 reasons. Why haven’t any ransom demands been made? You don’t hijack a plane filled with 240 civilians and then pretend like it never happened. That’s thoroughly illogical. As for “keeping the evidence secret”, again…why? What would be the purpose of covering up anything up, while the entire world is watching? No, I think we’re safe to assume that the plane went down in the ocean, and nobody was spared. Any other scenario exists solely in science fiction, or crazy conspiracy theories (and no doubt, we’ll have a plethora of both before long…) ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/24 "2014-03-16T17:45:38Z")
> [@Indian](#): > > Doper **dgrdfd** posted this link in another thread. post 521 > [http://www.bigbreakingnews.com/2014/...l#.UyW7a4Wa90s](http://www.bigbreakingnews.com/2014/...l#.UyW7a4Wa90s) Linky no worky. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/25 "2014-03-16T17:50:14Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > There aren’t many places you can land a 777 without anyone noticing. There aren’t many places where an airliner can crash without anyone noticing, either, yet one or the other seems to have happened. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/26 "2014-03-16T17:55:07Z")
The plane’s been found. It’s on [Craigslist.](http://vietnam.craigslist.org/for/4372477162.html) Cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/27 "2014-03-16T17:56:09Z")
What about a scenario the plane is landed at a runway that gets used sometimes? Perhaps a state player or something…the problem everyone is raising about landing the plane is that people would notice. I think the trick is doing it in a way that isn’t noticed as being different. Not that I think it’s likely…I tend to believe the plane is in pieces somewhere. But for the sake of conversation… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/28 "2014-03-16T18:52:52Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > There aren’t many places where an airliner can crash without anyone noticing, either, yet one or the other seems to have happened. No, it’s down in the ocean somewhere. And the ocean is freaking HUGE. Seriously, look at a map of the U.S.A. and then imagine trying to find an airplane parked on the ground somewhere, with no city lights or geographical features to guide you. And then [look at the size of the Indian Ocean.](http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/03/world/malaysia-flight-map/index.html?iid=article_sidebar) And remember, at this point, you’re not even looking for a plane anymore, but only floating pieces or an oil slick or other tell-tale signs of what the water swallowed. Chances are, unless we get _extremely_ lucky, Malaysia 370 will never be found. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/29 "2014-03-16T19:39:04Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Chances are, unless we get _extremely_ lucky, Malaysia 370 will never be found. ☹ _Never_ is a long time, my friend. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/30 "2014-03-16T20:11:36Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > There aren’t many places where an airliner can crash without anyone noticing, either, yet one or the other seems to have happened. There are a lot places a plane can crash and not be noticed. The ocean for one. If someone did hijack the plane to ‘steal it’, they probably would have killed all the passengers and kept the plane, to be used at a future date. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/31 "2014-03-16T20:42:03Z")
At this point, unless the S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier was there for it to land on in midair (in stealth mode), then the airplane, crew and passengers are all somewhere deep beneath the Indian Ocean. And don’t give me any guff about the length of the landing area of the helicarrier. Two words: force fields. I was hoping this was a hijacking, but that seems extremely unlikely now. ---
**Author:** ![CatherineZeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@CatherineZeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatherineZeta)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/32 "2014-03-16T20:48:06Z")
In which case it probably crashed. I don’t see how it would be possible to kill all the passengers without seriously damaging the plane leading to it crashing or just flat out crashing it. Maybe the intent was to land somewhere, drop the passengers off, then go somewhere else? I don’t know if the plane would have had enough fuel to do that though and how it could have done that without anyone seeing. Maybe this was a case of a loony, suicidal pilot. Or incredibly dumb hijackers who didn’t think this through properly. Wouldn’t it have been a lot easier to buy a plane through the black market if stealing a plane was the intent? Whatever happened, it’s very tragic for the passengers and flight crew (assuming this wasn’t something the pilots were in on). ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/33 "2014-03-16T21:31:24Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > I was hoping this was a hijacking, but that seems extremely unlikely now. What’s so unlikely about it? After distilling all the news reports, this does appear to be the most likely scenario. > [@CatherineZeta](#): > > Maybe this was a case of a loony, suicidal pilot. Or this, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/34 "2014-03-16T21:34:07Z")
> [@Indian](#): > > [http://www.bigbreakingnews.com/2014/...l#.UyW7a4Wa90s](http://www.bigbreakingnews.com/2014/...l#.UyW7a4Wa90s) Post has now been deleted. Looks like the Greek freighter has vanished as well, and no one is paying attention to the “debris field”. Big Breaking News does not look like a reliable site. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/35 "2014-03-16T21:43:17Z")
I think the plane is _Lost_. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/36 "2014-03-16T23:27:43Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > No, it’s down in the ocean somewhere. And the ocean is freaking HUGE. Seriously, look at a map of the U.S.A. and then imagine trying to find an airplane parked on the ground somewhere, with no city lights or geographical features to guide you. And then [look at the size of the Indian Ocean.](http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2014/03/world/malaysia-flight-map/index.html?iid=article_sidebar) And remember, at this point, you’re not even looking for a plane anymore, but only floating pieces or an oil slick or other tell-tale signs of what the water swallowed. Chances are, unless we get _extremely_ lucky, Malaysia 370 will never be found. ☹ Since the US Navy is involved and they have access to the most advanced sonar gear on the planet, the plane will eventually be found. However, depending upon the depth where the plane is located, it may be unrecoverable unless someone with deep pockets decides to bring together the necessary assets to retrieve it or at least enough of it to determine why the crash may have occurred. Unfortunately, Malaysian Air doesn’t seem to be that party and the Chinese government may have to foot the bill. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/37 "2014-03-16T23:43:27Z")
Go here, then scroll down to see the map of red dots showing where it could land. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/malaysia/10700892/Malaysia-Airlines-MH370-plane-crash-live.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/malaysia/10700892/Malaysia-Airlines-MH370-plane-crash-live.html) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/38 "2014-03-16T23:48:45Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > The main thing is that if it did happen, it would be unprecedented. I’m fairly certain that there has never been an incident of a plane completely disappearing and later being discovered with the passengers safe but taken prisoner. So we would have to calculate the probability based on a current rate of 0%. That doesn’t mean that this couldn’t be the first time, but it seems unlikely. Some people believed that about KAL 007, and some people still believe it about Flight 77 on 9/11. Didn’t happen either time. ---
**Author:** ![CatherineZeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@CatherineZeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatherineZeta)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/39 "2014-03-17T00:20:21Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > However, depending upon the depth where the plane is located, it may be unrecoverable unless someone with deep pockets decides to bring together the necessary assets to retrieve it or at least enough of it to determine why the crash may have occurred. Unfortunately, Malaysian Air doesn’t seem to be that party and the Chinese government may have to foot the bill. Do you think the US would also foot the bill considering that there were US citizens on board? ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819/40 "2014-03-17T00:29:21Z")
> [@tellyworth](#): > > There aren’t many places you can land a 777 without anyone noticing. Ahem. [![](https://i.imgur.com/Ee6MBIs.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/Ee6MBIs.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-realistic-chance-that-that-the-missing-plane-landed-safely-all-the-passengers-are-still-alive/683819.md?page=3)