Massive pharaoh statues found

Two colossal statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III were unveiled by archaeologists Sunday -- after being moved to their original sites and restored -- in the funerary temple of the king, on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, Egypt.

German archaeologist Hourig Sourouzian, who heads the project to conserve the Amenhotep III temple, speaks to media in front of one of the two newly displayed statues. The statues were restored after being discovered in pieces during excavations at the site.

Pharaoh Amenhotep III, here shown with his wife Tiye alongside, is believed to have lived from 1390 to 1353 B.C.

The new statues join a pair of already famous giants known as the Colossi of Memnon -- two 16-meter-high images of King Amenhotep III seated on his throne.

In addition to the two statues, a newly displayed alabaster head from an Amenhotep III statue was also unveiled by archaeologists over the weekend.

• Two massive ancient statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III unveiled in Luxor, Egypt


• Statues, discovered in February, join two other giants nearby, the Colossi of Memnon


• Egypt's tourism sector continues to feel effects of political instability

(CNN) -- Archeologists in the historic city of Luxor, Egypt have unveiled two massive ancient statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III to the public.

The newly restored quartzite statues, one of which is more than 11 meters high and weighs 250 tonnes, can be found at the funerary temple of Amenhotep III.

They join a pair of already famous giants at the temple known as the Colossi of Memnon -- two 16-meter-high images of King Amenhotep III seated on his throne, also made of quartzite.

The unveiling was presided over by German archaeologist Hourig Sourouzian, who heads the temple of Amenhotep III conservation project.

The two new statues, discovered during excavations at the site, were originally in pieces before being restored and raised to their current standing position at the temple.

According to the World Monument Fund (WMF), the temple of Amenhotep III was erected between 1390 and 1353 B.C. for the pharaoh. It was 100 meters wide and 600 meters long, but only the lower sections of the structure remain.

Pharaoh Amenhotep III and his wife Tiye.

The Colossi of Memnon, which mark the entrance of the temple of Amenhotep III, are the most visible remains of what was once the most richly ornamented of all Theban monuments, says the WMF.

"The temple structure was originally destroyed by earthquakes, and, since it was never fully excavated, the site was overgrown with vegetation and threatened by seasonal floods and agricultural development," says the organization.

"These problems were compounded by an increase in surface salts from rising groundwater, a by-product of the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s."

Luxor, 635 kilometers from Cairo, is divided by the Nile into two areas commonly referred to as the East and West Bank -- the latter home to some of Egypt's most prized ancient temples and monuments.

The unveiling comes at a time when Egypt's tourism sector is fighting to pull itself out of a slump due to political instability that's lingered since the ousting of Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

According to the Daily News Egypt, Tourism Minister Hisham Zaazou said on Saturday that the tourism sector is completely collapsed, adding that great changes are needed to improve conditions.

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Search location rules out scenarios

A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion takes off from the Pearce air base in Perth, Australia, to join the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on Sunday, March 23.

Crew aboard an Australian P-3 Orion "sub hunter" scan the southern Indian Ocean as they search for the missing plane on March 23.

A U.S. airman monitors his instruments aboard a P-8 Poseidon during a mission in the southern Indian Ocean on March 23.

Two giant Chinese Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft sit on the tarmac at Pearce air base on Saturday, March 22.

Flight Lt. Jason Nichols, on board a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion, looks towards HMAS Success as they search for signs of the missing plane on March 22.

The Norwegian merchant ship Hoegh St Petersburg, which was diverted to take part in the search, is seen from a Royal Australian Air Force P-3 Orion on Friday, March 21.

• Robert Goyer: Flight 370 may be remembered as one of the biggest aviation mysteries


• Goyer: Presumed location of the plane wreckage rules out certain scenarios


• He says the best explanation is still a botched hijacking or failed pilot takeover of plane


• Goyer: Mechanical or electrical failure cannot alone account for what we know

Editor's note: Robert Goyer is the editor-in-chief of Flying magazine and a commercial jet-rated pilot.

(CNN) -- Flight MH-370 may go down in history as one of most incredible aviation mysteries. The cruel reality is that even though we have a fair amount of information now, we still know so little.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak informed the families of the victims that the plane had crashed into the remote south Indian Ocean, and all 239 people onboard are presumed dead.

That tragic but not unexpected conclusion was based on data analysis by satellite company Inmarsat, which Malaysia now says was able to track Flight 370 until the signal ended very near where searchers are now hunting for plane wreckage.

The location tells a lot about what might have happened to the doomed flight while telling us not a single detail about why it crashed.

The presumed location of the wreckage makes it all but impossible for certain scenarios to have played out as many observers insisted they must have.

The first thing to understand is altitude is everything. A turbofan powered jet like the Boeing 777-200ER relies on altitude to make good on its ultra long-range capabilities. At its normal cruising altitudes from around 35,000 to 40,000 feet, the 777 can fly very long distances, in excess of 11,000 miles. But it seldom flies long routes.

On its trip from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, the plane would have had, according to investigators' projections, around seven hours of total endurance at a normal cruising speed of around 600 mph -- just enough to have flown its suspected flight path north for 40 minutes, west for around that much time again, and then south for many hours.

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At lower altitudes, turbofan engines like the Rolls-Royce engines on the Malaysia Airlines airplane, burn substantially more fuel than they do at typical cruise altitudes -- as much as twice depending on the altitudes one uses for comparison.

The increase in fuel burn will greatly reduce range, making it impossible for Flight MH-370 to have reached the southern Indian Ocean at a low altitude. It would need to have flown at a much higher optimum altitude in order to make it that far.

Pilots can reduce the power to cut back on fuel flow, of course, but that also reduces airspeed, which again reduces range.

There's no winning when it comes to flying a turbofan-powered airplane: If you want to fly far, you need to fly high.

So the fuel required for MH-370 to have reached the presumed crash location around 1500 miles west of Perth, Australia, means that the airplane did not do a lot of climbing or descending after it deviated from its original planned route to Beijing while it was still an hour or so north of Kuala Lumpur.

So if there was a struggle for control of the flight -- whether it was mechanical issues or a hijacker -- it could not have lasted long or involved great altitude deviations.

This means it's hard, though not impossible, to explain the disappearance as being the result of a mechanical or electrical failure. Such a scenario, as I've been saying since the beginning of the mystery, would require a kind of mechanical magic bullet, an event that would have taken out the transponder and ACARS radio, as well as the voice communications radios. Why else would they not have communicated the emergency?

Then one must accept that such a failure chain could then allow the crew -- or skilled intruder-- to be able to drive the airplane around the sky for a protracted period of time, eventually pointing it south, in the opposite direction from where the airplane was originally headed.

Let's remember, too, that the airplane would have to maintain an altitude sufficient to allow it to reach the southern Indian Ocean. All this must also have left the 777 in good enough shape to fly for another six hours or so before crashing.

A failure of the pressurization system might account for the scenario, but only if the pilots completely mismanaged their response to the emergency. The 777's backup and emergency oxygen systems are just as intelligently designed as the rest of the jet's redundant systems.

It's also difficult, if not impossible, to explain how the jet could have made the turns it did if the crew were unconscious during that time. Were they desperately trying to find an airport before time ran out? If so, they would have done two things they didn't do: They would have communicated the emergency and they would have descended. Neither of those things happened.

While it's horrific to imagine, a botched hijacking or failed pilot commandeering of the airplane are still the most likely scenarios.

Only when searchers have located and recovered the wreckage, as we all desperately hope they do, will we have our first good clues to what have might have unfolded on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-370.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Robert Goyer.

Plane theory that makes most sense

• Pilot Les Abend: Evidence on Flight 370 is consistent with a mechanical concern


• He says the plane might have been flying on autopilot in its final hours


• All explanations are speculative until the plane's components are found, Abend says

Editor's note: Les Abend is a 777 captain for a major airline with 29 years of flying experience. He is a senior contributor to Flying magazine, a worldwide publication in print for more than 75 years.

(CNN) -- Since the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, no aviation search has garnered more attention than the loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The disappearance has become the mystery of the century. It is baffling both to the public and to aviation experts alike, myself included.

First, let's not forget to find compassion for the families and friends of the passengers on board this flight. Accident investigations are aimed at finding them an answer, at discovering the cause of such tragedies and at preventing them from ever happening again.

Rather than delve into the numerous sabotage/terrorist theories, I'd like to focus on mechanical malfunction. Considering all the facts, or the accepted assumption of facts, a malfunction that overwhelmed the crew may still be a viable explanation. This makes the most sense to me, as a 30-year airline veteran.

Piecing together all the current information as of March 24, I'll describe a chronological scenario. The scenario is pure speculation on my part, and I have included commentary at various points.

0. The captain utilizes a PC-based flight simulator and deletes some files. So what? My take: This is a hobby. The captain is passionate about flying. Did he fly only the 777 in the simulator? He could well have flown other types of aircraft in the simulator, for his own purposes. Regardless, he wouldn't require this device to execute a nefarious plot. An 18,000-hour captain already has all the resources, i.e. charts and manuals, including his own experience.

1. The captain completes a cell phone call prior to takeoff. Judging by the distance from the main terminal to the runway, this cell phone call was most likely made after pushback from the gate at Kuala Lumpur. Yes, this was a violation of the sterile period (during which extraneous activity outside of aircraft operations should not occur) and not quite up to professional standards but not a big deal. Most likely, the captain made the call while the airplane had been safely stopped on a taxiway. It does not imply malicious intent. As of this writing, information has not been released regarding the details of the phone call.

2. At 12:36 a.m., Malaysia 370 contacts the Kuala Lumpur tower and receives a clearance to hold short of Runway 32R at the departure end, my translation from a non-verified transcript.

3. At 12:40 a.m., Malaysia 370 receives clearance to take off.

4. At 12:42 a.m., Malaysia 370 receives a clearance to climb to 18,000 feet and is directed to the IGARI waypoint, approximately 300 miles away, the entry point into Vietnam's airspace.

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5. Although the transcript timeline seems abridged, having eliminated communication with other aircraft that had to be on the frequency, it appears that the co-pilot reported the altitude level at 35,000 feet on three occasions. Apparently, this repeated report has caused concern. My colleagues will agree that the most diplomatic method to remind an air-traffic controller that you had requested a higher altitude would be to state your current altitude. It's a subtle hint in air-traffic control parlance. Maybe the original clearance was filed for a higher flight level than 35,000 feet.

6. At 1:07, ACARS (the Automatic Communication and Reporting System) gives what turns out to be its final report. Also at this time, it was alleged that an additional waypoint not on the original flight plan had been entered into the flight management computer. The implication is that someone in the cockpit had intent to veer off-course for nefarious purposes. I believe that if indeed a waypoint was entered -- and it seems difficult to verify with the ACARS no longer reporting -- it was entered as a means to identify an equal-time point. Such a point is a position on the route that indicates the flight is equal in time to two or more diversionary airports. It is a required dispatch calculation prior to departure but an optional entry on the flight management computer.

7. At 1:19, a Kuala Lumpur Center air-traffic controller instructs Malaysia 370 to contact Ho Chi Minh Center (Vietnam radar) on frequency 120.9. The co-pilot responds with the now-famous "All right, good night." Although the correct response would have been to repeat the frequency, the co-pilot was informal. Not a big deal. Crews that have flown that route know that the frequency doesn't change. It is printed on the en route chart.

8. At 1:21, the transponder ceases to send out its coded discrete signal that identifies the flight. Perhaps the beginning of a malfunction in the electronics and engineering compartment?

9. At 1:37, the automatic ACARS transmission does not give its 30-minute report. Had the problem become a full-blown emergency?

10. An undocumented report that a Narita, Japan-bound flight is asked by Ho Chi Minh Center to attempt contact with Malaysia 370. The Narita flight is approximately 30 minutes ahead but is unable to establish contact with Malaysia 370. This attempted "relay" would have been a typical procedure used by air-traffic control. Ho Chi Minh Center would have first attempted contact on the assigned frequency and then used the emergency frequency that all controllers and airlines monitor. There is cause for concern but no reason just yet to sound the alarm.

11. At 2:15, Malaysian military radar (disclosed one week after the disappearance) claims to have observed a primary target on the west side of the Malaysian peninsula, indicating that the flight flew a westerly course at some point after the last verbal transmission.

In my view, the above timeline only includes what appears to be the most credible assertions. Subsequent to this timeline, reports of satellite "pings" and engine data being transmitted indicate that the airplane may have remained airborne for an additional five to seven hours. Without verification and true understanding regarding the implications of these reports, it is difficult to speculate.

In addition, raw data from another radar site indicated that the 777 may have climbed to an altitude above the airplane's certified ceiling and then quickly descended and climbed again. And now the most recent assertion has the airplane descending to 12,000 feet. If in fact the airplane descended to 12,000 feet, its fuel consumption would have been almost double that at the higher altitudes. In that regard, how did the airplane fly so far south into the Indian Ocean, as has now been announced emphatically by the Malaysian Prime Minister?

Assuming the airplane did indeed continue to fly, here is a hypothetical scenario:

A smoldering fire began to affect the components in the electronics and engineering compartment. The fire was insidious, producing smoke at a slowly increasing rate. As components began to fail, the crew followed appropriate checklists until it was determined that the primary concern was to land the airplane. The captain entered the waypoint identifier for a diversionary airport into the flight management computer. The autopilot turned the airplane toward the diversionary airport, a southwesterly direction.

In the meantime, the crew attempted to control an airplane that may have been losing portions of its electronic flight control systems. Primary flight displays on the instrument panel may have begun to shut down, making it difficult to interpret airplane attitude and airspeed. The crew donned their oxygen masks with the integral goggles, but toxic fumes, low visibility etc. eventually overcame them when the oxygen bottled was depleted due to the pilots both breathing rapidly in a high-stress environment and the mask switch most likely being selected to 100% at high pressure.

A degraded autopilot continued to steer the airplane toward the diversion airport at an altitude selected by the crew. When the airplane reached the last waypoint -- the diversionary airport -- the flight management computer functioned as designed and kept the airplane on its last heading. Fuel exhaustion caused the engines to flame out one at a time. Operating on one engine for a brief period may have caused a turn due to the differential power that couldn't be compensated by a degraded automatic system.

When the autopilot could no longer maintain the airplane at the selected altitude, it disconnected. The airplane would have begun a slow, erratic descent. When the last engine shut down, the ram air turbine would have deployed, providing both limited hydraulic power and limited electric power. Eventually, the airplane would have descended and crashed into the ocean.

A lot of focus has been on the fact that the crew did not communicate the problem. Maybe they did attempt to declare a "mayday." Had the primary radios been destroyed by fire? Or more likely, the communication went unheard because the airspace where the malfunction occurred was just out of the range of normal VHF communications, in addition to being just outside Ho Chi Minh Center's radar.

It is all pure speculation until the airplane is located. I'd like to keep an open mind. Regardless, perhaps I've explained some of the unexplainable.

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Les Abend.

At age 80, Gloria Steinem still matters

Writer and activist Gloria Steinem speaks in November during an Equality Now event in Los Angeles. Steinem helped usher in the women's liberation movement during the 1960s and 1970s, and she remains one of its most outspoken and visible symbols.

A portrait of Steinem circa 1970. In 1971, she co-founded Ms. magazine, the first magazine to be created and operated entirely by women.

Steinem, left, helps hold up an image of the My Lai Massacre during a 1970 march down New York's Fifth Avenue.

Steinem is featured as "The New Woman" on the cover of Newsweek in 1971. She was increasingly seen as the spokeswoman of the women's movement, although the headline to the story inside -- " A Liberated Woman Despite Beauty, Chic and Success" -- showed there was still a long way to go.

Steinem speaks at the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami, where she nominated Frances "Sissy" Farenthold for vice president. Steinem co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus, which works to increase the number of women in the political field.

Steinem, left, and Jill Ruckelshaus listen to a question during their appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" in Washington in 1972.

Steinem presents presidential nominee Jimmy Carter with a copy of Ms. magazine in 1976. The magazine featured Carter's mother on the cover.

Steinem looks over a copy of Ms. magazine at her desk in 1980.

From left, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, Steinem, activist Bella Abzug and Barbra Streisand attend a 1981 benefit in Streisand's honor for Women USA.

Steinem walks with writer Maya Angelou on their way to the March on Washington on August 27, 1983. The event commemorated the 20th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

Steinem, right, poses with actress Kirstie Alley at the Ms. magazine offices in 1984. Alley played Steinem in "A Bunny's Tale," a 1985 TV movie based on Steinem's experience going undercover to work as a Playboy bunny in 1963. After her undercover work, Steinem wrote an expose about the poor pay and working conditions.

A police officer arrests Steinem in 1984 during an anti-apartheid protest outside the South African Embassy in Washington.

Steinem applauds first lady Hillary Clinton at Clinton's address to the New York Women's Agenda in 1995.

Steinem poses with Gloria Feldt, former president of Planned Parenthood, at a reception in 1999. The event celebrated the relaunch of Ms. magazine by Liberty Media for Women.

Steinem holds up a copy of her book "Enslaved" as she speaks during a 2007 protest on the steps of the state Supreme Court in Albany, New York.

Librarian of Congress James Billington awards Steinem a Living Legend medal during the Library of Congress' 200th birthday party in 2011.

Steinem is presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama at the White House in November. It is the nation's highest civilian honor.

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• Kathleen McCartney: Gloria Steinem changed rules on what it mean to be a woman


• In 70's Steinem co-founded Ms. magazine to upend sexist status quo. McCartney was hooked


• Steinem helped her find voice to seek posts reserved for males, resist 'policed' gender roles


• McCartney: Steinem's work still resonant, necessary; we don't live in post-gendered world

Editor's note: Kathleen McCartney is the president of Smith College.

(CNN) -- When I think of Gloria Steinem approaching 80, I think about the women of my generation, growing up at the end of the Baby Boom. We internalized a lot of stereotypes of what it meant to be a woman in those days. Until Gloria changed the rules.

My earliest memories of gender inequity involve "I Love Lucy." I was 7 years old when I asked my mother, "Why does Ricky act like Lucy's boss?" My mother laughed and said it was "just a joke." I didn't get it.

The unspoken rules were evident in grade school, when teachers signaled their high expectations for boys but not girls. And when I looked at the larger world, I found that men were the leaders of countries, companies, churches, schools -- although the teachers were mostly women.

I felt different, really different, but mostly I kept quiet about it until I was 17. In the summer of 1972 I bought the first issue of Ms. magazine, a vivid image of Wonder Woman bursting from its cover. Steinem, a founding editor, examined the myth that "Women Voters Can't Be Trusted." Letty Cottin Pogrebin wrote about the insidious ways that women compete with other women. A piece titled "Populist Mechanics" helped women demystify the workings of their car, complete with a detailed diagram of an auto engine. An etiquette column headlined "Manners for Humans" counseled, "Anyone can hold doors for anyone else. It is only decent to see that it doesn't slam behind you."

I used my babysitting money to subscribe. I was hooked.

Gloria's words rang in my head when I challenged the status quo for girls in high school. A faculty advisor for the National Honor Society announced that the boys could run for president and treasurer and the girls for vice-president and secretary. Like Gloria, I came from a working-class family where you didn't question authority. My heart pounded as I argued for gender equality. I found my voice through Gloria's.

By the time I was in college, I was taking courses on sex roles and dressing like Gloria for Halloween: I streaked my straight blonde hair and topped off my outfit with aviator glasses.

After college, life got more real. And so did the pressures to conform. "Gender roles are policed," Gloria taught us. I went on to study psychology and learned the academic term for this policing: "coercion to the bio-social mean." Stray from the behavioral norms of your social group, and people -- men and women alike -- will conspire to push you back to the middle.

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In the workplace, such policing is clear when it involves discrimination. Other times it is subtle, but it can be just as effective. Be good, but not too good; be strong, but not too strong; be competent, but not too competent. Cross those subtle lines and you'll be branded with the "B" word: "bossy." A recent article in the European Business Review put it this way: "Women must live up to collective expectations of what makes a leader, while at the same time remaining true to gender expectations."

A year ago I led an executive education workshop for school principals aspiring to become superintendents. I asked how many of them had been accused of being bossy. Nearly every woman raised her hand. I talked about society's gendered perceptions of leadership. Some participants welled with tears as they began to understand that sexism often masquerades as a hurtful personality attack.

In a 1995 speech to graduating seniors at her alma mater, Smith College, Steinem analyzed this phenomenon with her typical anthropological incisiveness: "Some of us women have been successfully socialized to feel that women can't be leaders, and vice versa."

When we have children, people double down on the pressure for women to conform. Often this comes in the form of never-ending questions about balancing work and family. Wouldn't you rather be at home with your baby? Don't you worry about the effects of child care? Why are you working so hard?

Once again, Gloria had the answer. In 1984, she observed, "I have yet to hear a man ask for advice on how to combine marriage and a career."

Women pressure other women about work and family, a phenomenon that has continued well past the "mommy wars" of the 1980s. I am still troubled by Anne-Marie Slaughter's 2012 Atlantic Monthly essay, "Why Women Still Can't Have It All." In the most widely cited Atlantic piece of all time, Slaughter wrote about the challenges of balancing a demanding career and raising children. If Gloria had been her editor, we might have seen a different headline: "Why Parents Still Can't Have It All ... and How to Raise Everyone's Consciousness About It."

One of my favorite expressions of Gloria's is, "The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off." The truth is that we need to continue the work of identifying how gender biases operate in our everyday lives. We are not living in a post-gendered world or a post-feminist world. Leaders of countries, companies, churches and schools are still mostly men.

"A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men," Gloria taught us. The work of feminism goes on because Gloria's voice continues to resonate across the world. The woman whose words changed the trajectory of my life at 17 continues to speak to me and millions more. "Whatever the question," Gloria said recently, "women are part of the answer."

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Kathleen McCartney.