Deep Dive: MH370 Episode Three — The Turn Back

The Malaysian report’s military-radar chapter is the primary source this episode is walking: at 17:21:13 UTC the blip turns right then left onto 273°, flying parallel to airway M765 toward Kota Bharu; between 17:24:57 and 17:37:35 heading varies 8–20° and groundspeed 451–529 kt; a 4,800 ft paint near Pulau Perak at 18:01:59; disappear 18:03:09; reappear 18:15:25–18:22:12 at 29,500 ft, 516 kt, heading 285°. The report warns that recorded altitude and speed changes blip-to-blip were well beyond aircraft performance — i.e. the radar file is a track of a 777, not a flight-data recorder. Any “turn-back psychology” built on those altitudes is standing on noisy primary radar.