Technology Hindered, Helped Search For Flight 370

In this day and age of constant connection, the public has been surprised to learn that radar and satellites aren’t actually all-seeing, cellphone locations aren’t always traceable and key data about the plane is only recorded, not transmitted in real time to the ground. And onboard tracking systems can be disabled manually — one theory holds that someone in the cockpit intentionally diverted the plane and disguised their actions. “Technology can track a flight, but assuming malice was involved, it wouldn’t change the outcome of this disaster. Only better human intelligence and screening can do that,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation consultant with the Teal Group.