re: Official Thread: Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

So here’s what we’ve pieced together so far:

The plane took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12:41 AM local time

The plane climbed for some time and achieved a cruise altitude of 35,000 ft

At 1:07 AM, the data reporting system was turned off

At 1:21 AM, the transponder was turned off

At 1:23 AM, Malaysian ATC/Ho Chi Minh center lose contact with the plane and it apparently climbs to 45,000 feet. This is 2,000 feet above the service ceiling of the 777-200ER.

A turn towards the west is made and it descends to 23,000 feet and crosses back over the Malaysian peninsula near the island of Penang.

The plane begins to climb again and reaches a constant flight level of 29,500 ft.

The data indicate that the plane may have flown over the Indian Ocean for a period of 4-5 hours at 29,500 feet before crashing, landing, abducted by aliens, etc.