So, we think the plane went down in the ocean. A really deep part of the ocean. There is little wreckage that has been seen/found.

Why spend a gazillion dollars on finding a wrecked airplane filled with, sadly, dead people? Sure, finding the data recorders will give us cockpit conversations, and a possible motive. But again, we know the final result, so what good is the motive/motives? Let the families grieve and get on with their lives. How would you feel they find the plane and recover all the bodies -1, your loved one?

Just let things alone.

If the wreck was preventable, it could be very useful to figure that out.

If there was criminality involved, I for one would like to see those responsible held accountable.

Until we see wreckage, it's hard to say for sure that this is where the plane ended up.

Because if it happened once, it can happen again. Was it a cockpit fire like in Cairo, a new issue, bomb, suicide, etc? Are you willing to budget another bazillion dollars and 200+ lives for the next time.

Those flight data recorders capture thousands of parameters from every system on the aircraft. They're not just voice recorders. The data on the flight 370 recorder matters more then anything else in preventing a reocurrence.

Yeah, you absolutely have to find out how and why it went down. It could be a systemic issue that will come up again and cost more lives. No way you let it go- you must get to the bottom of it no matter what it costs or how long it takes. JMOHO.

There are so many unanswered questions. We need to know the answers, particularly if this is terrorist related. Even if it's not terrorist related, I'm sure fringe elements have been infused with some ideas.

At this point, it would have been cheaper if all planes had been equipped with more robust tracking technology. Besides the actual cost for the searches, there's the wasted mental energy worldwide, which is worth a lot of money also.

The sad and hard fact is that we learn more from failures than success.

So, what happened? What went wrong? People? Technology?
Some of the above?
All of the above?

We don't know.

Enough people fly frequently enough that we need to try to find out. Will we get all the answers? NO. Will will get some? I hope so. I do not think it is something we can just walk away from and mark up to "bad luck" or "who knows."

An obscure fact or bit of evidence may save thousands of lives in the future.

It is possible, if not probable, that the voice recorder is blank, as it loops in about 2 hours, and the plane may have flown on auto after everything was, ummmh, over.

Perhaps the data recorder might yield some useful info.

But ultimately, IMO, the era of the on-board voice and data recorders should be declared to be over and everything real-time data linked to the "cloud" should start.

If we assume that the cost is worthwhile, there are serious security ramifications associated with such a system. It's not at all clear to me that the airline industry has a good handle on information security.

why they don't get a boomer in the area to check for a signal is beyond logic. If they can detect ships that are made to run silent...they can find a signal. Use trained dolphins for crying out loud.

And yes...if I knew someone on that flight I would notwant to just leave them at the bottom of the ocean...that would be an insult to their memory and unbearable for the loved ones they've left behind.

Retrieving the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder is the goal. I seriously doubt they will recover any of the passengers or crew.

Dolphins? Can they find stuff at that depth?

Not likely. I have not heard of dolphins going to those depths. Whales, maybe. But, whales are a bit unruly.