How can a jet disappear? In the ocean, it's not hard

In an age where there is mass surveillance of all types of electronically transmitted information how is it that the precise location of a multi million dollar aircraft is not being monitored by commercial or military satellites? Ships carrying cargo have gps transmitters on them so why wouldn't an airline have a satellite based gps tracking system monitor all it's aircraft? In the war against terrorism why wouldn't the major governments all over the world be tracking every commercial or military aircraft in the air, it's not like we don't have the technology or is there something I am missing here.

In an age where there is mass surveillance of all types of electronically transmitted information how is it that the precise location of a multi million dollar aircraft is not being monitored by commercial or military satellites?

Because some agency has to regulate it and someone has to pay for it. For the number of times that this kind of phenomenon happens (rarely) is it worth the cost? Many airlines are struggling as is. Other disappearances have been found after some weeks or longer. Harsh reality: It won't change the outcome to have the answer instantly.

So who pays for the instant answer in those infrequent situations that this type of disaster happens? In the end that someone will be the passenger.

I just can't imagine how these families must feel. Not getting any answers and the longer it takes, the bigger the emotional toll. It's just strange, but yes, with all the high technology that's there, you'd think they would at least by now find something, but nothing, it's just too bizarre.

Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) is a digital datalink system for transmission of short, relatively simple messages between aircraft and ground stations via radio or satellite,e.g. maintenance, delays, special needs of passengers, etc.. That's how they knew there were problems with AF447. It should not be difficult to incorporate geographical coordinates into such as system, and there are enough systems such as Inmarsat and Iridum to provide near global coverage since 2007.

Is it possible for a pilot to intentionally take his plane "off the grid?"

It's time for airlines to institute live transmission via satellites. The info are already being collected by the blackboxes - now they just need to transmit the info. If they can institute live phone calls and live internet via satellites, then they could do this too. Priorities people, phone calls and internet or this.

I hope everyone is fine, but I really, really doubt it. I hope it was not terrorism.

From an altitude of 35,000 ft. this aircraft can lose both engines and glide for up to 120 miles.

My guess is that the overlords of information technology already know where flight mh370 is and what happened. I think the technology is or has been in place for many years but we are not privvy to what depths it can go as this would undermine their operations. If it was terrorism, why no announcement celebrating a victory. Sorry though for all the suffering of those relatives waiting for an answer when the answer is probably already well known by the guys in the shadow world.

From an altitude of 35,000 ft. this aircraft can lose both engines and glide for up to 120 miles.

But there's no mayday communication from the pilots.

From an altitude of 35,000 ft. this aircraft can lose both engines and glide for up to 120 miles. But there's no mayday communication from the pilots. And even in an event of total electricity loss modern aircrafts have a wind generator which provides energy for basic functions including communication.

Yes, it may have for a time flowen off course, but really, what are the odds of it being anywhere but in the drink. The real question is: How did it get there? The CIA and their collaborators must by now have some reasonable intel on that.

Is it possible for a pilot to intentionally take his plane "off the grid?"

To a certain extent, yes. Radar is "line of sight", so at some point the curvature of the Earth is going to mask an object at 35,000 feet. Even while still visible to radar, a pilot can make tracking much more difficult by turning off their transponder. What the transponder on a passenger jet does is transmit a 4-digit "squawk code" and the reported barometric altitude of the aircraft every time it senses that a secondary radar is illuminating it. All a pilot would have to do is turn off the transponder. In the past it was considered bad form to leave the transponder on while taxiing so the capability is there to silence it, but with the automated airport anti-collision systems being installed on taxiways and runways you see more airports requiring that transponders be on and "squawking" beginning with push-back from the ramp.

In the case of a plane with a transponder that was silenced during flight, radar facilities would have to play-back the recorded radar session and determine which non-coded blips corresponded to the previously encoded blips while the transponder was on.

From an altitude of 35,000 ft. this aircraft can lose both engines and glide for up to 120 miles.

But there's no mayday communication from the pilots.

And even in an event of total electricity loss modern aircrafts have a wind generator which provides energy for basic functions including communication.

But the ram-air turbine only deploys when there is no electricity coming from the other more robust sources. That would mean that no power was being received from either engine NOR from the APU in the tail. The odds of all three dying during the same flight are astronomical. Something that would cause both engines and the APU to fail is probably going to sever the connection to the ram-air turbine as well.

My cell phone can give me a gps location of all my family members, my car can tell a service where I am and dispatch police, ambulance or a tow truck. Flyte dot com can tell you the speed, altitude and remaining flight time in US airspace but a commercial aircraft in international airspace is invisible. I don't buy that information. Where are the alien abduction theorists?

For me, question is why did it take Malaysian military air control four days to make a comment it had gone in opposite direction, across land to other sea. A lot of things here, and until they can get the black box, we have to wait. With all the info they have, one can assume anything, anyone could be to blame. And also, why did the Malaysian airline company and the country of Malaysian hold off for so long, now they seem to be made, because nine countries came to their aid.