Malaysian Flight MH370, Pilots and Possibilities

My husband is a pilot.  He flies single engine planes and has logged hundreds of hours.  Tom is an excellent pilot and on the one occasion when our plane was in serious trouble he was exactly the person I wanted at the controls. 

            Once we were in contact with Air Force One!  It was a one-sided conversation, but it illustrates what I need you to know about air traffic.  Tom and I had taken off from Spirit of St. Louis airport in Chesterfield, MO, heading for St. Paul, MN and the Winter Carnival.  It was Super Bowl weekend, a cold January day.  As our Cherokee Six approached Quincy, Illinois, a call came over the radio.  “This is Air Force One at Quincy, taxiing for take off.”  Tom and I looked at each other.  Could that really have been what we heard? 

            Tom answered the call, “This is Cherokee Six, November 1-2-3 (giving our plane type and tail number) transitioning Quincy air space, south to north, at 6500 ft.”

            The call came back, “Air Force One at Quincy, taxiing to runway 3-5 for take off.”

            President Clinton had delivered the State of the Union address the previous night, and was scheduled to go to Quincy the next day for another speech.  Tom had checked the pilot NOTAMs for potential flight restrictions but had seen none for our time and direction.  Unfortunately, President Bill Clinton was notorious for delay.  It was, in fact, Air Force One which was now obeying all of the rules of aviation when taking off from a non-towered airport.  You send out a standard call over standard channels to announce your intentions.  That is how one prevents collisions in a crowded sky. 

            Tom responded without hesitation.

            “November 1-2-3 will circle south of Quincy air space.”  He was already banking away from the airport. 

            In the next few minutes we heard two other transmissions.

            “Air Force One taking the active…Air Force One leaving Quincy air space.”

            We never saw the President’s plane or the jets that accompany same.  But this is a basic lesson in airplane communication.  It puts me in mind of an underlying problem with the disappearance of Malay Flight MH 370.     

All airplanes, big or small, have transponders that transmit a four digit code available to flight data stations.  When Tom and I fly, our transponder is set at 1200.  All other planes and control towers know we are a small plan flying VHR (visual flight rules).  A squawk can be changed at any time, and for any reason.  A squawk of 7700 means, “Hi-jacking.”  Trust me, if you are transmitting 7700 you had better not be alone when you land! 

Flight MH370 didn’t squawk 7700, not even for an instant.  Its transponder, indeed, all of its tracking devices, had been shut down, slowly and deliberately.  It keeps my mind turning around one possibility.   

The plane had two Islamic pilots, which raises the possibility of terrorism.  [Don’t waste your time sending me missives about what a peaceful religion Islam is, the evidence is against you.]  But why would anyone hi-jack a big plane just to crash it in the ocean?  What if the plane is not destroyed, but landed safely in some terrorist stronghold?  What if a big jet is needed for some heavy lifting?  What if it has been repainted, repurposed, and is sitting on a tarmac, waiting for its radicalized crew to take off on some horrible mission?  I do not think this story has an ending yet.  And that chills me to the bone.

 Pray I am wrong, and keep the faith.