马航失联需了解的五件事
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, with 239 people aboard, lost contact early Saturday with the airline shortly into the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Government and airline officials said they weren't ready to speculate about what caused the Boeing 777-200 to disappear from radar. Here are five things to know about the flight and air safety.
上周六凌晨，载有239人的马来西亚航空(Malaysia Airlines) MH370航班从吉隆坡出发飞往北京，但在起飞不久后与地面指挥失去联系。政府和航空官员称，他们不准备任意猜测执飞该航班的波音777-200客机从雷达上消失的原因。以下是关于马航MH370航班和航空安全，人们需要了解的五件事。
#1: What happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370?马航MH370航班出了什么事？
With 239 people aboard, the plane lost contact with air-traffic controllers shortly into the flight early Saturday. Cruising at roughly 35,000 feet, the plane was about a third of the way into its trip and traversing the South China Sea when Malaysian controllers lost touch and the pilots failed to report to Vietnamese controllers along their anticipated path, according to data provided by the carrier and authorities from both countries.
这架载有239人的飞机在上周六临晨起飞后不久与空中交通指挥员失去联系。马来西亚航空以及中国和马拉西亚当局提供的数据显示，当时该航班飞行在约3.5万英尺（约10,670米）的高度，正在横越南中国海，飞行路线已完成约三分之一，然而马拉西亚的空中交通指挥员
与该飞机失去联系，飞行员没有沿着预期路径向越南的空中交通指挥员报告位置。 #2: Has anything like this happened before? 以前发生过这样的事情吗？
Air-safety experts have likened the sudden loss of contact and some other elements to the 2009 crash of an Air France jet into the Atlantic Ocean en route from Brazil to France; all 228 people on board were killed. The pilots on that plane also failed to issue any emergency calls and the wreckage wasn't recovered until two years later, demonstrating the challenge of search and rescue operations.
航空安全专家将此次马航MH370航班的突然失联和其他一些元素与2009年法国航空(Air France) 空难事件联系到一起。2009年一架法航班机在从巴西飞往法国的途中，从大西洋上空坠机。飞机上的228人全部遇难。当时，飞行员也没有发出任何紧急呼救，大部分飞机残骸两年后才找到，空难搜救工作的困难程度可见一斑。
#3: Why is it so difficult to locate lost planes?为什么定位失联飞机如此困难？ Today's airliners have sturdy emergency-locator devices designed to transmit signals in the event of a crash, as do so-called 'black boxes' that contain digital flight data and cockpit recordings. But without knowing the trajectory of a plane as it went down–or fully understanding wind and wave conditions if it crashed into water –searchers sometimes can end up crisscrossing huge areas looking for relatively small pieces of wreckage. Particularly deep water or rugged terrain can seriously hinder investigations.
目前的民航飞机都装配有坚固的紧急定位设备，用于在发生坠机时发出信号，比如记录了数字飞行数据和驾驶舱通话记录的“黑匣子”。但是不知道一架飞机坠落时的航迹，或者无法
全面了解飞机入水时的风浪情况，那么搜索人员有时就需要在广阔的区域搜寻相对较小的飞机碎片。尤其是在深水或崎岖地带，会严重影响搜寻工作。
#4: What technology do airlines use to track flights? 航空公司使用什么技术跟踪航班？
Carriers typically have dispatchers and operational-control centers tracking aircraft, often communicating with pilots via data links or even voice communications over satellite connections. In the event of a major mechanical problem or other onboard events that don't immediately require an emergency landing , cockpit crews can call on those experts for advice. On many planes, certain maintenance and operational data are automatically transmitted to ground facilities.
航空公司一般由调度员和运营控制中心来跟踪飞机，通常通过数据联系与飞行员交流，甚至通过卫星联系进行语音通讯。在出现重大机械故障或者其他不需要立即紧急着陆的机上事件时，飞行员可以请这些专家提供建议。在许多飞机上，部分维修和操作数据会自动发送至地面中心。
#5: What's the safety record of the 777?波音777飞机的安全记录如何？
The long-range Boeing 777 has had an exceptional safety record since entering service in May 1995. Malaysia Airlines was an early operator of an extended-range version and got its first in May 1997. There have been only two earlier 777 incidents during a flight that resulted in the loss of the aircraft. The first was in January 2008 when British Airways Flight 38 suffered icing inside its fuel lines after a long
midwinter flight from Beijing crash-landed just short of London's Heathrow Airport, injuring 47. The second was Asiana Airlines Flight 214, which struck a sea wall on final approach to San Francisco International Airport in July 2013; three passengers were killed.
波音777远程客机自1995年5月份投入使用以来，安全记录极佳。马来西亚航空在1997年5月份接收了首架波音777飞机，是较早使用这种远程飞机的运营商。此前波音777飞机在飞行过程只发生过两起造成机身严重损毁的事故。第一起事故发生在2008年1月份，当时英国航空(British Airways) 从北京飞往伦敦的38航班由于在冬季远程飞行后燃油系统内部结冰而在希思罗(Heathrow Airport)机场附近迫降，导致47人受伤。第二起事故发生在2013年7月份，当时韩亚航空(Asiana Airlines)的214航班在旧金山国际机场着陆时撞到防波堤，造成3名乘客死亡。
马航失联需了解的五件事
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, with 239 people aboard, lost contact early Saturday with the airline shortly into the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Government and airline officials said they weren't ready to speculate about what caused the Boeing 777-200 to disappear from radar. Here are five things to know about the flight and air safety.
上周六凌晨，载有239人的马来西亚航空(Malaysia Airlines) MH370航班从吉隆坡出发飞往北京，但在起飞不久后与地面指挥失去联系。政府和航空官员称，他们不准备任意猜测执飞该航班的波音777-200客机从雷达上消失的原因。以下是关于马航MH370航班和航空安全，人们需要了解的五件事。
#1: What happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370?马航MH370航班出了什么事？
With 239 people aboard, the plane lost contact with air-traffic controllers shortly into the flight early Saturday. Cruising at roughly 35,000 feet, the plane was about a third of the way into its trip and traversing the South China Sea when Malaysian controllers lost touch and the pilots failed to report to Vietnamese controllers along their anticipated path, according to data provided by the carrier and authorities from both countries.
这架载有239人的飞机在上周六临晨起飞后不久与空中交通指挥员失去联系。马来西亚航空以及中国和马拉西亚当局提供的数据显示，当时该航班飞行在约3.5万英尺（约10,670米）的高度，正在横越南中国海，飞行路线已完成约三分之一，然而马拉西亚的空中交通指挥员
与该飞机失去联系，飞行员没有沿着预期路径向越南的空中交通指挥员报告位置。 #2: Has anything like this happened before? 以前发生过这样的事情吗？
Air-safety experts have likened the sudden loss of contact and some other elements to the 2009 crash of an Air France jet into the Atlantic Ocean en route from Brazil to France; all 228 people on board were killed. The pilots on that plane also failed to issue any emergency calls and the wreckage wasn't recovered until two years later, demonstrating the challenge of search and rescue operations.
航空安全专家将此次马航MH370航班的突然失联和其他一些元素与2009年法国航空(Air France) 空难事件联系到一起。2009年一架法航班机在从巴西飞往法国的途中，从大西洋上空坠机。飞机上的228人全部遇难。当时，飞行员也没有发出任何紧急呼救，大部分飞机残骸两年后才找到，空难搜救工作的困难程度可见一斑。
#3: Why is it so difficult to locate lost planes?为什么定位失联飞机如此困难？ Today's airliners have sturdy emergency-locator devices designed to transmit signals in the event of a crash, as do so-called 'black boxes' that contain digital flight data and cockpit recordings. But without knowing the trajectory of a plane as it went down–or fully understanding wind and wave conditions if it crashed into water –searchers sometimes can end up crisscrossing huge areas looking for relatively small pieces of wreckage. Particularly deep water or rugged terrain can seriously hinder investigations.
目前的民航飞机都装配有坚固的紧急定位设备，用于在发生坠机时发出信号，比如记录了数字飞行数据和驾驶舱通话记录的“黑匣子”。但是不知道一架飞机坠落时的航迹，或者无法
全面了解飞机入水时的风浪情况，那么搜索人员有时就需要在广阔的区域搜寻相对较小的飞机碎片。尤其是在深水或崎岖地带，会严重影响搜寻工作。
#4: What technology do airlines use to track flights? 航空公司使用什么技术跟踪航班？
Carriers typically have dispatchers and operational-control centers tracking aircraft, often communicating with pilots via data links or even voice communications over satellite connections. In the event of a major mechanical problem or other onboard events that don't immediately require an emergency landing , cockpit crews can call on those experts for advice. On many planes, certain maintenance and operational data are automatically transmitted to ground facilities.
航空公司一般由调度员和运营控制中心来跟踪飞机，通常通过数据联系与飞行员交流，甚至通过卫星联系进行语音通讯。在出现重大机械故障或者其他不需要立即紧急着陆的机上事件时，飞行员可以请这些专家提供建议。在许多飞机上，部分维修和操作数据会自动发送至地面中心。
#5: What's the safety record of the 777?波音777飞机的安全记录如何？
The long-range Boeing 777 has had an exceptional safety record since entering service in May 1995. Malaysia Airlines was an early operator of an extended-range version and got its first in May 1997. There have been only two earlier 777 incidents during a flight that resulted in the loss of the aircraft. The first was in January 2008 when British Airways Flight 38 suffered icing inside its fuel lines after a long
midwinter flight from Beijing crash-landed just short of London's Heathrow Airport, injuring 47. The second was Asiana Airlines Flight 214, which struck a sea wall on final approach to San Francisco International Airport in July 2013; three passengers were killed.
波音777远程客机自1995年5月份投入使用以来，安全记录极佳。马来西亚航空在1997年5月份接收了首架波音777飞机，是较早使用这种远程飞机的运营商。此前波音777飞机在飞行过程只发生过两起造成机身严重损毁的事故。第一起事故发生在2008年1月份，当时英国航空(British Airways) 从北京飞往伦敦的38航班由于在冬季远程飞行后燃油系统内部结冰而在希思罗(Heathrow Airport)机场附近迫降，导致47人受伤。第二起事故发生在2013年7月份，当时韩亚航空(Asiana Airlines)的214航班在旧金山国际机场着陆时撞到防波堤，造成3名乘客死亡。