Freescale semiconductor, 20 people dead

[freqmax]

The producer of chips like the m68k series may be affected by this:

CNN: No sign of Malaysia Airline wreckage; questions over stolen passports

Twenty of the passengers aboard the flight work with Freescale Semiconductor, a company based in Austin, Texas. The company said that 12 of the employees are from Malaysia and eight are from China.

[freqmax]

Poor maintaince, sabotage, bad pilots, bad construction etc. I think it's too early to even hint at any cause. Most likely the oil strips will provide a location clue that can be followed up with sonar and radio localization. The black boxes sends a beacon signal for one month (asfair). But that will be tough to find in conductive seawater.

Once the black boxes (loggers) are found. It will likely provide clues to a new level.