How large, or rather, how small an explosion can this Pentagon system detect? Middle of the Pacific ocean, hours away from land, not really confident that this Pentagon system you speak of would be able to detect what by all right would be considered a small explosion more than sufficient to bring down a commercial airline from 35,000 feet.
I don't think that a large explosion is required. You have 500 MPH winds clawing at every inch of that plane's skin, and any breach would result in a explosive decompression which rips that skin, changing the load factors on the structural members which are the plane's skeleton, and she just won't fly anymore. Down she comes.
As reported on the news, there are many places, especially over the large oceans, where there are no radar stations on land within range. Radars do in fact have a limited range. What is relied on when flying through these 'dark' areas is GPS based radio position reporting. Seems to be the interval is every 10 minutes.
No, but it does mean that there was a sudden and catastrophic event that prevented the pilots form calling a mayday. The priorities are clear,
1). Aviate - keep the plane in the air and under control
2). Navigate - keep it pointing in the right course
3). Communicate - then tell someone else
If the flight crew were not able to do #1, you probably wouldn't get a radio call.
