Sometimes, my wife comes to me and asks me if I’ve seen such-and-such or so-and-so because she’s looked everywhere and it – whatever it might be – has vanished. Now, it’s common knowledge that things don’t simply disappear, vanish, whatever; there is always a logical explanation of what has happened to the missing objects. And then it’s just a matter of retracing one’s steps and applying oneself to some diligent searching in all the most unlikely places. Of course, if we’ve put the thing we’re supposed to have lost in some other place, then the matter persists in being more perplexing. Which is the reason why “putting things back where they belong” – that old adage from my grandmothers’ generation – still retains a modicum of truth today. So, I was sitting on the patio, having my early-morning cup of tea, when a simple question crossed my mind: How can an aeroplane with more than 200 people on board simply vanish from radar screens? That’s what happened about a month ago to Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 as it was heading to Beijing, I think. The pilots were experienced fellows with a vast number of flying hours behind them, the aircraft was well maintained, and the whole of modern technology was at their disposal as the plane headed towards its destination. But then, some device that signals the aircraft’s position so it can be tracked on the ground was switched off, apparently deliberately. Why? Almost immediately, hundreds of speculations popped up as to why that happened, as did a few informed guesses, and a handful of professional opinions. It was time for a conspiracy theorists’ field day.
Now, the batteries on the plane’s black boxes – those invaluable sources of information about what happens in the cockpit – are losing power daily, so they will soon stop emitting their telltale “pings”. All the ships and planes involved in the ongoing search will no longer be able to home in on those crucial signals. The plane seems to have vanished because it wasn’t where it was supposed to be. Maybe Grandma was right, after all.
Date:
