Quote:
Originally Posted by Amuro Ray
Yes, relaying position reports is as common as taking a shit, and on its own shouldn't draw any sort of flags... but if you are on the emergency frequency (121.75) that that itself should have prompted the guys on the narita bound flight to probe deeper and ask them if they are in distress - since the relaying of messages under normal ops uses normal control frequencies... you will NEVER use 121.75 unless you are in danger or really have zero idea of what is going on.
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Using 121.5 is fairly normal in day to day operation. Although not really recommended, it's completely understandable to use it when out of range from a controller. An aircraft would normally be speaking to ATC on one radio, and monitor 121.5 on the other. If they have lost contact on radio 1, usually they would try and contact someone on the same frequency, but using 121.5 is also an option as every airliner/ATC should be monitoring. The fact they made a position report is null, and this doesn't draw any flags in my mind.
As a widebody pilot, this one confuses the shit out of me. The fact there was no Mayday call, signs of distress or anything just tells me whatever happened, happened fast…. or was planned all along.