OPINION: Missing flight odd

We depend on science and technology for answers and it seems that no mystery is too difficult for experts to tackle and eventually solve.

Human activity is monitored electronically through the internet and visually with satellites snooping from above on every wavelength from infrared to ultra violet.

We often react with mistrust and suspicion, but when we face tragic and unexplained events, we rely on modern technology to solve the unsolvable.

That’s why the disappearance of Malaysian flight 370 is so mysterious – it is inconceivable that a Boeing 777 aircraft can just disappear and may never be found.

This is not comforting news for the grieving families left behind but it is clear that for all its bells and whistles, modern technology has some serious limitations.

To date, no trace of the missing airliner has been found – no debris field, no oil slick and definitely no black box.

A number of hints, clues and plenty of circumstantial evidence have surfaced but the fate of this lost airliner remains unknown.

There have been other missing aircraft, many mysterious disappearances and unexplained happenings but nothing quite like this lost plane with 239 people on board.

One of the most famous was the loss of Amelia Earhart and her navigator during their attempted round the world flight in 1937.
It was commonly believed that she ran out of gas and had to ditch the plane but one theory had her spying for FDR and crashing on a Japanese island.

Conspiracy theorists tried to explain her disappearance in many ways but the mystery remains unsolved to this day.

In 1978 Frederick Valentich was flying his Cessna 182 to an island 130 miles south of Melbourne, Australia when he disappeared without a trace.

His last radio transmission was, “That strange aircraft is hovering over me again…and it’s not an aircraft!”

Mr. Valentich was a fanatic about UFO’s and he was very concerned about alien abductions but regardless of that, he and his plane were never seen again.

And we have all heard about the Bermuda Triangle which has claimed over a hundred aircraft in the last 75 years.

Many boats and ships have also gone missing including the USS Cyclops in 1918 – a 500 foot navy freighter that vanished without a trace along with 306 passengers and crew.

Throughout history there are numerous cases of missing planes and ships but Malaysian flight 370 has become the most mysterious and intriguing of them all.

And because no debris or remains have ever been located, conspiracy theorists are suspicious.

The facts so far indicate that this flight was deliberately diverted and foul play was involved.

Since it continued to fly for a number of hours after contact was lost, it seems that the flight may have been commandeered for some unknown purpose.

But who could have stolen it and why?

Perhaps it was hi-jacked by the Taliban and either flown to a secret air base or crashed into the sea.

Perhaps stealing this plane is just the first outrageous act of a tragic scenario that has yet to unfold.

Or consider this – on board the plane were twenty employees of Freescale Semiconductor, an American company allegedly developing cloaking technology.

This technology could have been used to “disappear” flight 370 which was then covertly landed at the US base in Diego Garcia.
Unless the plane is found, all this uncertainty is a little unsettling.

Frequent flyers will continue to be nervous until either something turns up or the guilty parties fess up to the real story.

We may never uncover it but the truth is out there somewhere.