I agree Kalle,

Speculation that the tracking devices were turned of deliberately and at different times, changing direction of flight plan so dramatically, and the plane continuing to ping so long afterwards seems to suggest fowl play. As Bit mention, going into a dive would have set off distress signals. Also, there is no indication that they lost the ability to communicate all those hours after changing direction. It appears that the plane went deliberately silent.

It will be fascinating if they ever figure out what has actually happened.

Surprisingly, some of the best and most up-to-date information on this can be found on wikipedia. Pretty cool times we live in, when you can turn to an encyclopedia for news on an ongoing current event.

You've all heard of spontaneous combustion right?... Well my theory is along those lines but with a bit of a twist.
 
The culprit? = Spontaneous Lard-ass-tion!
 
That's right! A little known condition that causes the body's cells to turn everything into fat, including the air that the victim is breathing, resulting in them blowing up like a Macy's day parade float! Except that it isn't air inside there? It's lard!!!
 
From what we know of the planes movements? I think it's obvious that multiple passengers suffered this affliction simultaneously and all of them just so happened to be on the same side of the plane. The resulting, almost immediate, massive gain in weight on only one side of the plane, caused it to veer off course.
 
This theory is obviously sound except that it leaves one question. Why did the plane stop transmitting it's location?
 
To that I say, why don't you try transmitting your location with a salty, jiggling, erupting man boob, squishing into you like a flesh geyser set to projectile vomit?!!... In other words, I imagine the transponder was possibly crushed... Or eaten?...
 
With all this taken into account and adding the fact that the airline have said that the pilot was exceptionally skilled at keeping big metal things airborne. They need to stop searching for a crashed plane in the ocean and maybe should start looking for it in a parking lot at a KFC in Jakarta...

The reason "they" say flying is safe is to protect the commercial institution from public fear. Federal safety standards are so strict and expensive that the smaller the operation (and smaller the plane) the more likely these standards are not adhered to. It's common for the flying community to view FAA as over controlling and corners are cut to save time and money.
 
Before FAA stepped in, flying was indeed very unsafe. The Wrights knew just enough to get off the ground. Once in the air it was pretty much every man for himself. After WW1 the government told their pilots to go home and forget everything they knew about flying. Like that was going to happen! Once flying is in your blood it's like a disease with no cure. So many of them bought surplus war planes and went barn storming... much to farmer's chagrin.
 
During WW2 many pilots died in stalls and spins because they didn't understand that basic aspect of flying yet. Now that they do, these are some of the first things you learn about.
 
Alaska is the "flyingest state" with more pilots per capita than any other state. On average 50 pilots a year die here, mostly due to operator error. I know many "backyard" pilots of whom most I would never dream of flying with.
 
I will say that the larger and more famous an airline is, the safer it is bound to be. Even so, I personally do not consider flying to be any more or less safe than any other form of transportation... except maybe cycling.
 
I could go on but I'm sure I've bored you enough already.

Little airplanes should be safer (a 747 can't land in a pasture in a pinch and has a glide ratio akin to a streamlined rock) but they're not, primarily due to pilot incompetence. Just marvel at the widespread incompetence every morning on the freeway during rush hour - well, some of those idiots have pilot licenses, too.
 
My father was a flight instructor, both in the military and in the private sector. He had some tales to tell! He was also an open-cockpit stunt pilot who understood the principles of aerodynamics quite well. He also understood the importance of procedure and consistent adherence to best-practices. I remember flying with him once when he chastised me for not folding a map properly, saying it was a safety issue.

It's usually not the fall but the sudden stop that causes all the problems. 

You do know that "professional" pilots are only allowed to fly 20 hours a week, right? 

craigb
You do know that "professional" pilots are only allowed to fly 20 hours a week, right? 

Which is 16x more than someone who only flies 5 hours a month. 

A "good" month, I s'pect.  The fewer times a month they fly the gooder it is for everyone.
 
I used to fly and am also licensed to fix those "Wonderful Flying Contraptions". The first thing I learned is how flimsy they really are. There simply isn't enough spongy matter between you and any outside object that's rapidly propelling toward you.
 
If you really think flying is safe, look at how many Wingsuit men are dying to prove you wrong. It's sad to see anyone perish but this has got to be the ultimate in daredevil stupidity.
 
The more recent idea of putting ballistic shoots on planes is a great idea since the science of any person speeding like a bullet toward a hard object can only result in one outcome... ouch! My geniously unpatented idea is to come up with a ballistic airbag that completely envelopes the plane transforming it into a "big rubber ball".
 
 

Karyn

sharke

craigb
You do know that "professional" pilots are only allowed to fly 20 hours a week, right? 

Which is 16x more than someone who only flies 5 hours a month. 

Would that not depend on which month it is?

Nope. Whether it's January, February, March, April, May or any of the others, 5 hours a month is always 16x less than 80 hours a month 

sharke

Karyn

sharke

craigb
You do know that "professional" pilots are only allowed to fly 20 hours a week, right? 

Which is 16x more than someone who only flies 5 hours a month. 

Would that not depend on which month it is?

Nope. Whether it's January, February, March, April, May or any of the others, 5 hours a month is always 16x less than 80 hours a month 

That is true, but craigb(ITHRN) said 20 hours a week, which is 80 hours a month in 3 out of 4 Februaries but no other month.

yorolpal
Interesting read.  But still doesn't really account for no distress signals of any kind being sent from the plane. Or does it?
 

"For me, the loss of transponders and communications makes perfect sense in a fire. And there most likely was an electrical fire. In the case of a fire, the first response is to pull the main busses and restore circuits one by one until you have isolated the bad one. If they pulled the busses, the plane would go silent. It probably was a serious event and the flight crew was occupied with controlling the plane and trying to fight the fire. Aviate, navigate, and lastly, communicate is the mantra in such situations"

I think that pretty much sums it up.

The last update I heard were that there were no updates.

quantumeffect
Looks like Courtney Love has found the plane ...
 
http://wonderwall.msn.com/movies/the-shortlist-for-march-18-28535.gallery?photoId=134896
 
or
 
 http://pagesix.com/2014/03/18/courtney-love-i-found-the-lost-plane/
 

Love this comment about her "discovery." 
“What are the odds though that it would land right next to a red sign saying ‘plane’?"

Latest word (whatever that means anymore) is that the new altered course was layed into the onboard flight computer BEFORE the "all right, goodnight" sign off.  Meaning, of course, no fire, no problem, no disaster.  Just sayin.