New search area for missing flight based on flight speed and cruising altitude/ via Ian Petchenik @petchmo

The disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines flight has been the dominant story in global media since the airliner, carrying 239 passengers and crew, completely vanished on its way to Beijing.

According to sources, Malaysian authorities have further expanded their search yet again to incldue the area westward towards India claiming that it may have flown for up to five hours past the time it reached its last confirmed location, then disappeared. 

The question still remains: How can a plane go completely off of the radar? 

CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reported that there are a few technical inidctaors supporting the claim that the plane continued flying for a certain amount of time after the civilian air traffic controllers lost radar with the jet. Sources say the Boeing 777 continued attempting to transmit data about the planes engines and performance to satellites.

The underlying fact is that the jet was continuing to transmit signals - a strong indication that the jet did not immediately crash upon the loss of radar contact. Contrary, the engines continued running meaning that the plane either continued flying or was on the ground but was still producing enough power.

Along with this, U.S radar experts have looked at the Malaysian military radar track which showed the jet flying hundreds of miles off course west of its flight path and back across the Malaysian peninsula. There is strong enough reason to suspect that the unidentified blips seen on military controler screens are images of the aircraft, precisely why the search field is expanded to the Indian Ocean.

Along with an international effort sweeping parts of the South China Sea, a simlar hunt has been conducted to the west of the Strait of Malacca because of military radar sightings that may indicate the place headed that direction after its last contact while passing over the Malay Peninsula. India has commented that its navy, air force and coast guard are now looking for the seemingly invisible aircraft after a request for help from the Malaysian government. The total area is around 35,800 square miles or about the size of Portugal. 

In an interview with Neon Tommy, aviation enthusiast Ian Petchenik said that he developed a map (pictured above) of the possible expaned search area after doing "rough calculations" based on a Boeing 777's normal cruising speed, altitude, and the U.S. military's recent information regarding the possible four hour extended flight time from when the plane was last seen on Malaysian radar.

Petchenik said that the disappearance of flight 370 is "certainly a different situation" compared with other incidents and crashes involving commercial airliners, and the "lack of facts" involving this case is troubling.

Petchenik wouldn't speculate on where he thinks Malaysia Airlines flight 370 is, but said that this is a very unique situation.

Read more about the missing Malaysia Airlines flight at The Wall Street Journal.  

Reach Executive Producer Natasha Grey by email. 

View a high-resolution version of Ian Petchenik's map here:

New search area expanded in search for missing Malaysian Airline Flight 370 based on flying speed and cruising altitude/ via Ian Petchenik.