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Originally Posted by caseycasebeer
Very interesting article from George Martin. He certainly knows the aircraft!
It will be interesting to see what turns up ... if anything.
My 'guess it that the Captain did this as the desperation act of someone who felt he didn't have much to lose. He was angry at the System:
(1) The day before his departure he was at the sentencing (five years in prison...) of the former Malasian prime minister, whom he supported. (Various reports called the Captain a zealot or political extremist in support of the PM. There also seems to be an assumption that the PM was the victim of a political witch-hunt.)
(2) That same day (or the day before), his wife moved out and took their three children with her. Unconfirmed reports were that they were "estranged," but still living together. It was unknown if they were actually divorced.
Clearly, the Captain had a lot on his mind, and saw his World quickly unraveling.
My hunch is that his act was very impulsive, and he may very well have been acting alone. There could be some terrorist oriented planning involved, but so far I haven't seen it. This guy may have decided to commit suicide ... but he chose to take 238 other's with him, and do it in a very complex manner.
The item about the plane going up to 45,000MSL (well above the service ceiling...) is perplexing. The only reason I can think-of might be to disable/kill the crew and passengers via hypoxia. (Strategy: a) tell the copilot "get some rest ... I'll take this leg of the trip") b) Captain put's on supplemental oxygen mask c) reduce/decompress cabin pressure while in a steady climb to the final flight level d) keep aircraft at 45,000 long enough that he's sure everyone aboard is asleep or dead. e) abruptly dive aircraft back to 5000MSL (as has been reported) f) fly the aircraft to a hastily predetermined ditching point g) Splash.
It will be interesting to learn, if we ever do..., what happened to the aircraft. I believe there may well be some systems that could help in the location/recovery effort, but since the expectation is that all aboard are now deceased - it is felt there is no rush. In the coming weeks/months/years information may be leaked about where the aircraft was located ... but we will probably never know the details of 'how it was located. (Years ago we had the Glomar Explorer locate/retrieve a Russian submarine ... I expect there are "systems" out there now that make the Glomar Explorer look ancient; and governments don't want to tip their hands prematurely.)
...but it's Fascinating to follow the story and the investigation.
Best,
Casey
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Casey.
That was an excellent assessment and summary and you added things I didn't know but kind of wondered about, as to why the captain's family left the home the day before.
The U.S. seems to be pulling back on their help and that may be for a number of reasons, one being they know where the plane is and can't say how.
I too am drawn to the news and the ins and outs of reporting conflicting information. It is amazing how talented anchors and television producers can pose the same questions with different wording over and over and not get too far into speculation or name calling or bad journalism. I have given all the big networks equal opportunity to inform me and only one isn't doing too good a job.
It is the news and it is what people are interested in seeing and I have to admire those on the spot having to talk about it for a long time with no new information.
I wonder what happened to the co-pilot if he wasn't for it? I wonder if the Maylasian airline will recover from the huge financial losses and loss of respect? Is it a free enterprise thing or is it owned by the government?
I have a lot of questions about the area and the culture and the history and how confused I was about the geography of that area. My geography teacher would be pleased that I am interested in learning about the world more now than I was then.
And of course like everyone, my heart aches for all of those families whose grief and stress is overwhelming.