Page 17 - Flight Level News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Does that mean anything? or is it simply a striking coincidence? joining me now is jay rollins, retired american airlines captain and a former u.s. navy pilot and jim cavanaugh, an nbc law enforcement analyst. thank you both for coming on the show tonight. >> thanks, reverend. >> you bet. >> jay, let me start with you again. we haven't confirmed this news report, but if it is true, it certainly lends the impression that everything was pretty much normal right up until the transponder shuts off. what's your reaction? >> i read over the transcript that they put out and i don't see anything that ...

Increase your range. huge stretch of ocean. no real clear idea where the wreckage is. if there is wreckage, it is a big problem. >> the cargo manifest is something that investigators will be looking at as part of their on going investigation. malaysia airlines talked about the fact that there was a small collection of lithium eye on batteries. we talked again earlier about the possibility they could have caught fire. it happens, although rare. the indications would be that if that had happened, a pilot would have a chance to put out a may day or call or at least alert that there was a problem ...

Your point about calling out the altitudes, every time you make a frequency change, the proper protocol which they are good at is to announce either if you are climbing, what level you are climbing through and have been cleared to and once you reach there if you are in cruise at 350, you announce that to the controller that malaysian 370 is with you at flight level 350. that's not unusual at all. >> you would announce it twice if you are changing frequencies? >> you announce it with every new controller. you verify the controller that gave you that clearance and tell him you understood that by...

They can look at the read out on the screen and it shows this fire is emanating from the front cargo area. could be that the front wheel overheat and there is a fire in the electrical system. so the pilots immediately one of them might go down one level below us into that unit and look at the problem. you could be going to another airport. that is what commences the turn. while that is happening, the transponder shuts off. maybe the fire affected that or the copilot is unplugging the wires to shut it off like a burning toaster. the acars shuts down after that. maybe the same thing.

They really can't deploy and make use of a lot of the technology that they have. they are having to fly out there at a level of 1,000 feet. at that level, you are pretty close to the ocean. that's so they can pick up every object possible around them on this equipment. it's taking a lot of time and they are not able to get up to high altitudes because they really don't know what they are going to be looking for. it could be something as big as a large piece of an airplane or something as small as a floatation device or a cushion in the aircraft. they happen to be very low and that limits what ...