Stolen passports on Malaysian flight

[seven]

Passports stolen in Thailand, tickets bought in Pattaya.

The passport of the italian national was reported stolen in Phuket, Thaland last july, and the austrian nationals passport was reported stolen on a flight from Phuket to Bkk 2 years ago.  Thai authorities obviously didn't prevent these illegal passports to be used on international flights.

 

Fuckin monkeys. They can't get anything right.

 

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/malaysia/10686159/Malaysia-Airways-plane-Italian-family-relieved-over-sons-missing-passport-mix-up.html

[azza33]

Thai authorities obviously didn't prevent these illegal passports to be used on international flights.

 

Fuckin monkeys. They can't get anything right.

 

 

Poor call Seven.

 

The passports were registered on the interpol database (so i read) and i would assume its up to the persons own country to list passport as lost/stolen.

 

How the parties got though passport control at KLIA is the issue!!

 

And this could be nothing... or could be everything... only time will tell.

[KenW]

So many travellers holding stolen passports.

 

One report I saw today said a guy in Thailand busted with 5000 stolen passports. (Didn't say what was going to happen to him or them.) A huge industry in your LoS. Interpol has large database, but up to individual countries/authorities to access this. But even if Malaysia had noted, perhaps those 2 no more than drug mules, diamond smugglers, hit men, Euro crooks on hols in Pattaya, whatever.

 

Nothing in situation as yet links stolen passports to MH370 tragedy.

[mardhi]

Passports stolen in Thailand, tickets bought in Pattaya.

The passport of the italian national was reported stolen in Phuket, Thaland last july, and the austrian nationals passport was reported stolen on a flight from Phuket to Bkk 2 years ago.  Thai authorities obviously didn't prevent these illegal passports to be used on international flights.

 

Fuckin monkeys. They can't get anything right.

 

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/malaysia/10686159/Malaysia-Airways-plane-Italian-family-relieved-over-sons-missing-passport-mix-up.html

 

apparently the passports were not used as a 'vehicle' to leave thailand on.   does raise the question in my mind about why a ticket got purchased in Thailand with a Malaysia start of the journey.    The far is quite low and would likely be an ex-Thailand fare.   However that does not seem to be info in the public domain.  Maybe they are trying to work on leads. 

 

But as ken said - 'stolen' passports are big business.   Even bigger business is just selling your own for 15,000-30,000b cash.   damn, where did i put my passport......   

[seven]

"Flight information seen by AFP shows that tickets were booked in Maraldi and Kozel's names on March 6, 2014, and issued in the Thai city of Pattaya, a popular beach resort south of the capital Bangkok. 

The e-ticket numbers for their flights are consecutive  - 7842280116099 and 7842280116100 - suggesting that they had purchased them at the same time and both were paid for in Thai baht. 

 

 

Each ticket cost THB 20,215 (US$625). Kozel was booked to travel from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, then on to Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Maraldi was booked on the same flights until Amsterdam, where he was to continue to Copenhagen."

 

 

 

"Here is exactly what Rahman said about the appearance of the passengers on the stolen passports. 

“It is confirmed now that they are not Asian looking men,” he said.

A reporter asked Rahman to say “roughly” what they looked like. He replied “Do you know a footballer by the name of Balotelli [using an approximate pronunciation of the name]”. 

Reporters shouted the the name Balotelli, pronouncing the name footballer’s name correctly. Rahman corrected his initially pronunciation, and said: “Balotelli, yes”.

He added that the nationality of the men could not be confirmed.

Asked to clarify the appearance of passengers on stolen passports, Rahman bizarrely suggested they looked like the black Italian footballer Mario Balotelli."

 

 

You couldn't make shit like this up . An official describes the man with the stolen passport as Balotelli. Priceless

So maybe, and if, investigators pay a visit to the ticketgancy in Pattaya and ask the clerk to describe the buyer:

"Look same chocolate man".

[seven]

It gets better:

 

"Benjaporn Krutnait, owner of the Grand Horizon travel agency in Pattaya, Thailand, said the Iranian, a long-term business contact who she knew only as “Mr Ali”, first asked her to book cheap tickets to Europe for the two men on March 1. Ms Benjaporn initially reserved one of the men on a Qatar Airways flight and the other on Etihad.
 

But the tickets expired when Ms Benjaporn did not hear back from Mr Ali. When he contacted her again on Thursday, she rebooked the men on the Malaysia Airlinesflight through Beijing because it was the cheapest available. Ms Benjaporn booked the tickets through China Southern Airlines via a code share arrangement.

A friend of Mr Ali paid Ms Benjaporn cash for the tickets, she said, adding that it was quite common for people to book tickets in Pattaya through middle men such as Mr Ali, who then take a commission."

[seven]

Poor call Seven.

 

The passports were registered on the interpol database (so i read) and i would assume its up to the persons own country to list passport as lost/stolen.

 

How the parties got though passport control at KLIA is the issue!!

 

And this could be nothing... or could be everything... only time will tell.

Interpol confirmed that that the two European passports used fraudulently by passengers on the Malaysian airlines flight had both been added to the database after their theft in 2012 and 2013 respectively. But it said no country had consulted the database to check either of them since the time they were stolen.

[KenW]

Now today there are reports that the 2 guys with stolen passports were Iranian, and refugees, having flown from Tehran to KL, where they bought their tickets. That report is either totally wrong, or all yesterday's detailed report about Pattaya & middleman purchasing, etc., is incorrect.

 

How can media get things so wrong? Do they just make it up as they go along? Changing stories at whim.

 

Today's piece also says one of the Iranian men was going to Frankfurt to live with his mother. Kind of rules terrorism from these 2 right out, one would think.

 

So, back to square 1: what the hell happened at cruise altitude to MH370?

[JaiDee]

Seems like someone would have claimed responsibility by now had it been done by terrorists. Apparently a few b-teamers have said they did it but there is no proof.

 

   So what caused it?  Plain malfunction?

[KenW]

So, back to square 1: what the hell happened at cruise altitude to MH370?

 

I wrote that yesterday, given what seemed clear at the time.

Now it all seems to have been turned on its head.

Reports in Crikey from their aviation writer Ben Sandilands suggest there has been a coverup and misrepresentation in much of what was known up until yesterday.

He also suggests the Malaysians have a crash site located, but aren't telling anyone.

 

Now it seems the Malaysians have had much more knowledge of this whole thing than they have let on. Yes, it appears MH370 disappeared from civil radar where they say it did, when they say it did, and at cruise altitude as they said. Its transponder (sends out signal by which ground tracks the aircraft) had been put out of action, as had all radio signals devices (apparently known as ACARS).

 

But today Sandilands reveals their military radar continued to track the aircraft as it turned west, back over peninsula Malaysia, and dropped in altitude from cruise (approx. 10km) to 1000 m. Then as it passes over peninsula Malaysia to the seas of the Straits of Malacca, it disappears from the military radar. There are supposed reports of villagers under the flight path hearing a large jet aircraft at very low altitude (1000m) at about the time it would have been crossing the coast.

 

Shit, what is all this about?

 

Something odd happened at cruise altitude that brought all this on.

 

Onboard terrorism can't be ruled out but seems the least likely option.

Mental health of crew & passengers is being checked, but if all this was forced why not just ditch immediately, rather than go on for another 200+km?

Major airframe dysfunction is another possibility, but again why fly with it for 200+ km with radios & transponder turned off? Maydays should have been flying thick & fast.

One suggestion in comments to Sandilands' article is that Malaysian military shot it down as it crossed coast, not being able to detect  any signal from it. But still doesn't explain why those instruments were not functioning.

 

Original question holds: what the hell happened aboard MH370 at cruise altitude?

[pacman]

The officer who reported the plane was near the Straits of Malacca is now denying it. He has obviously been told to recant his story, why else would he say it only to say he didn't mean to? Sandilands is right in saying the Malaysians know more than they are letting on. This is supported by the angry reaction of the Chinese at the news being released, what are they upset about? It seems it is something other than the use of illegal passports.

 

If the plane has flown 100's of miles off course it may take years to find it. This is really bizarre, I hope we discover what happened sooner than later.

[seven]

 

 

 

 

Original question holds: what the hell happened aboard MH370 at cruise altitude?

Somethings not right. Vietnam and China more or less accuse Malaysia for holding back information.

[KenW]

Something's not right, alright.

 

Both VN & China expressing anger today at Malaysia's handling of the whole affair. The Malaysians seem to make a statement every day, then the next day or one after, directly contradict or even deny they made it. Very odd.

 

Sorry to bang on about it every day, but like a good thriller, the damn thing's got me hooked now. I want it solved. I want to know the answer.

 

Some American weighed in today with this: well, it had only used about 1/4 or 1/5 of the fuel required to get to Beijing, so that means it could have flown for another 2,000 + km, putting it in Pakistan or the Persian Gulf. Hooooweee. What the hell is going to be that answer?

 

[One thing I know for sure: I wouldn't like to fly a 200+tonne machine 2000+ km at 800+km/hr without instruments of the kind that were switched off.]

[ArchieBunker]

The Malaysian obviously screwed the pooch from day one.  Now whether its out of incompetence of secrecy is anyones guess.  The first few days they were NOT signing from the same hymn sheet. 

 

It has now been reported that the transponders were NOT turned off at the same time but 14 minutes apart.  this suggests something rather sinister.  There is a lot that does not make sense.  we get this drip of info most of which is erroneous.  this doesnt help matters.

 

I think there is a distinct possiblity that the aircraft may NEVER be found.  If the two black boxes, which are orange BTW, are found then thats 95% of the job done.  The one thing that entered my mind when this went down was some sort of sick pilot suicide if it werent a catostrophic event be it mechanical or terrorist.

 

Have a think about this, what of they find the cockpit voice recorder and there is fuck all on there.  you know they only record the last 1/2 hour.  Its on a loop.  When there is an accident, usually its a combined chain reaction of events rather than one single event thats causes the accident.  If you break one chain in the chain of events, the accident doesnt happen.

[pacman]

Curiouser & curiouser:

 

 

A MALAYSIAN government official says investigators have concluded that one of the pilots or someone else with flying experience hijacked the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.

The claim comes after seven days of fruitless searches for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, and after revelations suggesting the plane made several course corrections after the cockpit’s last known contact with air traffic control.

The official, who is involved in the investigation, told the Associated Press no motive has been established, and it is not yet clear where the plane was taken. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.

The official said that hijacking was no longer a theory. “It is conclusive,’’ he added.

[pacman]

I've just been talking with a senior pilot who shared his theory of what he thinks may have happened. He thinks there was either a "smoke" event (a fire in the electrics of the plane) or a de-pressurisation of the aircraft. Assuming it happened at cruising altitude he said the pilots had about 20 seconds to do something before they lost consciousness. If the oxygen masks had dropped down there wouldn't be the rush but it's possible they didn't or the oxygen bottles may have been empty or the valve was switched off. He said all of those scenarios are possible.

 

He said on a 777 they have to switch off the transponder in order to punch in one of three codes which cover a hi-jacking or a malfunction or some catastrophic event. I think that's the three options he mentioned, he thinks between switching off the transponder & punching in the code, they have passed out. The plane was set to level out at the new altitude they put into the controls when they discovered the problem & would have continued flying until it ran out of fuel.

 

The problem for me with the theory of the plane being hi-jacked is one presumes the hi-jackers would have wanted to land somewhere. No one on the plane wanted to die, what's the point of hi-jacking the plane only to crash it? And if they wanted to fly some place, they would do it at cruising altitude not 45,000 feet lower where they would burn up too much fuel. This plane only descended because there was a reason such as de-pressurisation or a "smoke" event, it never ascended again because by then no one was flying it. 

 

My friend's theory covers all the inexplicable stuff & I will wager he has got it right.

[pdogg]

 

BREAKING NEWS Saturday, March 15, 2014 3:02 AM EDT

Malaysian Prime Minister Says Missing Jet Was Deliberately Diverted Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia announced on Saturday afternoon that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 left its planned route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing a week earlier as the result of deliberate action by someone aboard.

Mr. Najib also said that search efforts in the South China Sea had been ended, and that technical experts now believed the aircraft could have ended up anywhere in one of two zones — one as far north as Kazakhstan in Central Asia, the other crossing the southern Indian Ocean. That conclusion was based on a final signal from the plane picked up on satellite at 8:11 a.m. on March 8, nearly seven hours after ground control lost contact with the jet, he said.

[ArchieBunker]

I've just been talking with a senior pilot who shared his theory of what he thinks may have happened. He thinks there was either a "smoke" event (a fire in the electrics of the plane) or a de-pressurisation of the aircraft. Assuming it happened at cruising altitude he said the pilots had about 20 seconds to do something before they lost consciousness. If the oxygen masks had dropped down there wouldn't be the rush but it's possible they didn't or the oxygen bottles may have been empty or the valve was switched off. He said all of those scenarios are possible.

 

He said on a 777 they have to switch off the transponder in order to punch in one of three codes which cover a hi-jacking or a malfunction or some catastrophic event. I think that's the three options he mentioned, he thinks between switching off the transponder & punching in the code, they have passed out. The plane was set to level out at the new altitude they put into the controls when they discovered the problem & would have continued flying until it ran out of fuel.

 

The problem for me with the theory of the plane being hi-jacked is one presumes the hi-jackers would have wanted to land somewhere. No one on the plane wanted to die, what's the point of hi-jacking the plane only to crash it? And if they wanted to fly some place, they would do it at cruising altitude not 45,000 feet lower where they would burn up too much fuel. This plane only descended because there was a reason such as de-pressurisation or a "smoke" event, it never ascended again because by then no one was flying it. 

 

My friend's theory covers all the inexplicable stuff & I will wager he has got it right.

 

 

Really dont think so.  I think its something sinister.  When there is a decompression the immediate actions for all crewmembers are "GRAB AND MASK AND SIT DOWN"  The O 2 masks are RIGHT NEXT to both pilots. I am a bit shocked your pilot buddy would even think the O 2 masks would be "turned off or empty".  I am certain that would be part of their pre flight to check that vital piece of equipment. 

 

Why would the transponders be turned off 14 minutes apart??  If, indeed, that info is accurate.  It seems that the plane made course changes after the original course change.  That HAS TO be doine by someone in control.

 

If there were an explosive decompression, after donning theor masks they would have dove down to a breathable altitude.  Doesnt make sense to me.

 

Theres a reason why the American Navy bolted to the Indian Ocean.  I really think they know something.  Even if they do, they STILL might not find it.  Any floating debris will have had over a week to drift.  Once/if they find any floating debris, then they have to work backwards.  If anyone finds it, I would think it would be the American/Indian Navy.

[pacman]

Really dont think so.  I think its something sinister.  

 

That's my opinion too but the hi-jacking theory runs into trouble when you consider that the plane was never hi-jacked. Or if it was in the process of being hi-jacked, the hi-jackers ran into trouble & never finished the job. It's as if whoever was changing course, etc, ran out of air & passed out. And that scenario fits exactly with my friend's hypothesis above.

 

When there is a decompression the immediate actions for all crewmembers are "GRAB AND MASK AND SIT DOWN"  The O 2 masks are RIGHT NEXT to both pilots. I am a bit shocked your pilot buddy would even think the O 2 masks would be "turned off or empty".  I am certain that would be part of their pre flight to check that vital piece of equipment.  

 

I think something happened (a smoke bomb or poisonous gas was released) which allowed the hi-jackers to take control of the plane. They had oxygen masks on but never counted on running out of O2. I can't comment on how thorough the flight checks are but an empty O2 bottle is a real possibility. My friend confirmed it has happened before.

 

 Whoever took control of the plane had time to make several course changes, yet they never flew anywhere in particular let alone try to land. This morning I see the plane flew on for another 7 hours to god knows where. Does anyone believe that after turning the plane around that there was anyone flying the thing? I don't.

[seven]

They're looking into the pilot now. Makes sense.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2581817/Doomed-airliner-pilot-political-fanatic-Hours-taking-control-flight-MH370-attended-trial-jailed-opposition-leader-sodomite.html

[KenW]

I agree with Archie that the ACARS being turned off 14 minutes before the transponder is fishy & deliberate (probably). As were the several course changes including flying from one known pilot point of navigation to the next across Straits and into Indian Ocean. So someone on the flight deck was conscious & in control.

 

But I also agree with pacman that in the end, it looks like no one was flying the thing as it appears to have merely gone nowhere (in terms of a destination), run out of fuel and crashed.

 

I think the political protest thing can be dismissed, as protestors almost always make their protests known. They don't just spit dummies and go off to suicide mass murder without comment or justification.

 

One thing that has bothered me since day 1 is the passenger & crew silence. Do you recall the mobile phone traffic from the 9/11 hijacks? The phones were ringing hot. I cannot get over the total phone silence during early part of troubles at least: the altitude change, the transponder off cutting off the flight path track on passengers' monitors, the change in direction 90 degrees from destination direction. Did no-one on the aircraft ask what's wrong? Where are we going? What's happening?

 

Out of those 200+ folks, with cause for alarm, how come none of them had their phones going? Maybe they were all unconscious.

 

Looks like it's going to be a long wait to find anything definite.

[pacman]

Out of those 200+ folks, with cause for alarm, how come none of them had their phones going? Maybe they were all unconscious.

 

Two comments - the phone reception in NYC is vastly better than the Gulf of Siam. Not many phone towers out there plus Asian airlines are more strict about operating mobile phones during the flight.

 

Second - I think they were unconscious, why else wouldn't someone come to the flight deck to see what was happening? Not even the cabin crew who would have realised something was wrong. They were either passed out or dead. 

[rxpharm]

Only satellite phones can send and receive at altitude, regular mobile phones only have a limited reception/transmission range of something like 15-20 km.

 

The senior pilot could have easily locked out the co-pilot during a bathroom break. Also there was a climb to 45,000 feet, well above normal cruising altitude. The senior pilot could have turned off cabin pressurization and knocked out all the passengers and crew - perhaps even killed them all if he remained above 10,000 feet for any prolonged period of time after doing that.

 

Still all speculation, but the political angle seems to make more sense. Of course if he left any statement behind, the Malaysian government would not report finding it.

[seven]

PHUKET, Thailand (AP) — When a German tourist refused to surrender his passport as collateral at a car rental stand along a popular beach in the Thai resort city of Phuket, the woman behind the counter pulled out a bag full of passport books to prove he could trust her.

But the tourist, Falko Tillwich, was insistent. "I said absolutely not ... no way," he recalled, and later handed over his driver's license instead.

 

Tillwich's concern: losing vital travel documents, or worse — having them stolen by criminal syndicates that are exploiting lax law enforcement and corrupt police here to support a global network of human smugglers, fugitives and sometimes, terrorists.

 

Thailand's sapphire blue waters, wildlife parks, delicious cuisine and raunchy red light districts have attracted tourists for decades. Last year alone, 22 million foreign visitors made the trip. That means "there are more passports to steal in Thailand than other countries in the region," said Clive Williams, a counterterrorism expert at Australia's Macquarie University.

Interpol says it maintains a global database of 40 million lost or stolen travel documents, but only a handful of countries actually check it before allowing passengers aboard flights. Malaysia and Thailand are not among them.

 

Thai officers arrested Parknejed Seyed Ramin for alleged involvement in a passport racket that was thought to have aided suspects in a bomb plot discovered in Bangkok on Valentine's Day the same year. Police said Ramin's gang had been running a lucrative, 5-year-old forgery business worth millions of dollars.

 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/missing-plane-throws-spotlight-passport-theft-070947800--finance.html

[pacman]

Hmmm.....

 

 

An image has emerged of the pilot of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet wearing a T-shirt with a 'Democracy is Dead' slogan as it has been revealed he could have hijacked the plane in an anti-government protest.

 

Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, a father-of-three, was said to be a 'fanatical' supporter of the country's opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim - jailed for homosexuality just hours before the jet disappeared.

 

It has also been revealed that the pilot's wife and three children moved out of the family home the day before the plane went missing.

 

It comes as FBI investigators say the disappearance of MH370 may have been ‘an act of piracy’ and the possibility that hundreds of passengers are being held at an unknown location has not been ruled out.

 

Captian Shah was an ‘obsessive’ supporter of Ibrahim. And hours before the doomed flight left Kuala Lumpur it is understood 53-year-old Shah attended a controversial trial in which Ibrahim was jailed for five years.

 

Campaigners say the politician, the key challenger to Malaysia’s ruling party, was the victim of a long-running smear campaign and had faced trumped-up charges.

 

 

Police sources have confirmed that Shah was a vocal political activist – and fear that the court decision left him profoundly upset. It was against this background that, seven hours later, he took control of a Boeing 777-200 bound for Beijing and carrying 238 passengers and crew.