Re: Flight 370?
My two bits….
Doubt it was de-pressurization. Pilots would have had time to don their mask and a signal would have been sent. The plane would have flown at 30K feet with transponders squaking until fuel exhaustion and the AP would have slowly glided the AC to terrain.
Doubt it was hijacking to use the plane for a future weapon. Much, much cheaper and less suspicion surrounding you if you buy a used airliner on the cheap. Then you could file a flight plan and go just about anywhere. After all, you don’t think the hijacker’s plan on flying the plane incognito somewhere in the future with all the electronic signatures that plane transmits? Impossible to get the parts to change the electronic signatures; you don’t just stop by a NAPA and wander up to the counter. Now they could have purchased the parts off a scrap plane… but the engine modules would be darn near impossible to get – they have to be serialized.
I doubt the Chinese would ever pay a ransom for their citizens that were on board and I doubt the insurance company would pay for the plane once they know it’s undamaged.
Could have been a hijacking for immediate use and something went wrong. If they used force to enter the cabin and turned the plane – there was plenty of time for passengers to use their cell phones. If force was not used – and the passengers were unaware – the plane could have turned and got beyond cell phone range.
Or cell phones could have been jammed. But to risk smuggling a device on the plane that could do that? Perhaps a few well-placed laptops… But I doubt it.
Perhaps a disgruntled pilot / co-pilot who snuffed out the other and took the plane where no one would ever find it; part of a big mystery suicide.
Nice soft landing in the middle of the Ocean – telling crew and passengers to buckle up for landing at their destination - or alternate destination due to….???
If it was dark, few would have known - much less got up to do something about it.
Next thing ya know your sinking to the bottom of the ocean with everyone strapped in their seat - and the pilot saying “Please remain seated… help is on the way… PLEASE remain in your SEAT…”
Leaving very little debris…. If any….
After all, who disobeys the pilot and crew on a plane these days?