I think the issues we are seeing here are varied. It take some time to mass a reliable search with the types of vessels and planes needed and their crews. This does not happen as quickly as we would like to believe in some cases and they then have to travel to the area to be searched. We are also dealing with several countries and at some point depending on what waters the plane and/or significant debris is/are found in, it will then have to be worked out who will lead it, the jurisdictions involved/worked out, and who will actually be in charge of the investigation.
Also, I had read in a foreign outlet about the possibility of the Vietnamese Navy's radar seeing the plane turn and posted about this, but it also had to be verified, receive the exact details/info of the readings and I have no idea what channels and entities have to be gone through to accomplish this or how long it can take. And it was not reported right away as far as I can discern. You have military and civilian ops and from various countries no less, trying to deal with each other, communicate, bring their pieces of the puzzle together and sort things out.
I have felt for a while now that the wrong area may have been being searched (my own ideas) and that the plane would/will not be found near it's last position or even presumed position. The search was expanded to another area yesterday, satellites from China are being re-deployed, more planes and vessels brought in and the search expanded yet again and we have to also allow for currents and other issues. The airline is not in charge of the investigation nor even the search. They will only release as much info as they have and are allowed to release. There is no real point in releasing certain info in tidbits here and there until they are verified, made sense of and linked together.
I know this is extremely frustrating and difficult for everyone, but it's a large, large area and they are looking for a small amount of whatever is to be found in that area, i.e. evidence of the crash. Expect many false positives as was the case of AF a the first reports of debris were not from the plane at all and it took them a couple of days (2 as I remember) to reach the area. For those familiar with this area and who have flown over it, we know just how congested it is with all sorts of vessels, all kinds of debris, slicks and more. This will not be an easy search.
People are focusing on the ACARS, but we do not even know if it was transmitting any possible issues, what they were and when. I am not sure why anyone thinks they should be getting the data before sense can be made of what may have happened either. Obviously far more questions and very little in the way of answers. So right now things seem to be scattered and all over the place. That is probably true to some degree and expected also to some degree, but we do not know everything that is possibly known by others involved in this incident and things may begin start to shape up sooner rather than later. I still think it's going to be a bitch to find the plane and I would be very surprised if this happens quickly considering now where it may have gone down.
My main concern is still for the loved ones and families of the pax and crew. If we are frustrated, or upset, they are completely devastated, beyond desperate, wracked with grief, lost, and with little to no hope.
