I agree, there appears to be an inconsistency. The map may be slightly off. Also, the pings were measured only hourly. Since one theory is that the plane was flying NW as of 2:15, it may have continued to fly in that direction, before heading south and winding up by 3:11 on a circle just barely bigger than the 2:11 circle.That map is great, but can those really be the right arcs? The Inmarsat spokesperson said that the ping timings got successively longer, but the 5:11 arc on the map is much closer to the satellite than the point of last radar contact, which was apparently not long after 2:11. It seems like the 6:11 arc is around where the 2:11 arc ought to be, and the rest should be inside the band between the 6:11 and 8:11 arcs.
Or - my favorite theory - Jeff Wise wrongly interpreted the Inmarsat statement that “the ping timings got longer” as true starting at 2:11. It may be that the ping timings got shorter from 2:11 to 3:11 or so (if the plane continued to fly westerly), then the ping distance grew successively thereafter, as the plane flew S or SE.
I say S or SE, since - while some theorize a course heading SW - flying in that direction from the point of last radar contact would actually be towards the Inmarsat satellite, at least until the plane crossed the latitude of the satellite (approx. at the equator).
