A Startlingly Simple Theory About the Missing Malaysia Airlines Jet

[Hissyspit]

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/03/mh370-electrical-fire/

A Startlingly Simple Theory About the Missing Malaysia Airlines Jet

BY CHRIS GOODFELLOW

- snip -

For me, the loss of transponders and communications makes perfect sense in a fire. And there most likely was an electrical fire. In the case of a fire, the first response is to pull the main busses and restore circuits one by one until you have isolated the bad one. If they pulled the busses, the plane would go silent. It probably was a serious event and the flight crew was occupied with controlling the plane and trying to fight the fire. Aviate, navigate, and lastly, communicate is the mantra in such situations.

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[Benton D Struckcheon]

1. Makes absolute perfect sense.

The only truly plausible theory of what happened I've yet seen. Simple, takes no mental gymnastics or special motivations on someone's part or anything like that.
Hopefully they find the plane so they can figure out which of the problems he says may have occurred actually brought it down.

[Common Sense Party]

2. And didn't the oil rig worker say he saw it fly by and it was on fire? nt

[Blue Diadem]

3. Wasn't there an oil rig worker who reported seeing a plane on fire?

I remember he gave locations but have never heard anymore about that.

[Voice for Peace]

5. link

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/03/13/Missing-MH370-Oil-Rig-Worker/

[Blue Diadem]

10. Thank you! So they did check it out.

Does make me wonder what he saw.

[NuclearDem]

4. Incoming nitpick:

This has nothing to do at all with the plane or the incident in general, but I need to say it.

I'm a firm believer in returning the word theory to the scientific community where it rightfully belongs. Its adoption by anyone making a haphazard guess or conjecture makes people less scientifically-educated than others conflate those with actual scientific theory, which are anything but.

I know you were just citing the article's title, but that's just a pet peeve of mine.

/soapbox

[mnhtnbb]

6. The problem with this speculation is that the plane

would have gone down and we shouldn't still be looking for it.

[brooklynite]

7. Startlingly simple....and wrong.

First, according to reports, the ACARS system was shut off BEFORE the last radio communication, which gave no notice of operational problems. Second, also according to reports, the turn was programmed into the navigation computer, not made manually.

Also, theory doesn't address reported elevation changes. On autopilot, the plane would either go continually up (until it stalled) or continually down (until it crashed).

[Wilms]

13. Be careful...

The Malaysian government (and the press) have muddied this.

But yesterday it was reported that the ACARS systems last 1/2 hourly report preceded the last voice comm. That means it could have been disabled, or failed, anytime between then and the next scheduled report. Big difference there.

I've, too, read that the planes path was considered computer programmed as the ONLY way for a pilot to hit the waypoints. Is that really true? Any pilots here?

Not sure about your last point, but those first two seem a bit shaky in my under-informed view.

[meanit]

8. There is a record

of potential problems with the 777's entertainment system wiring.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2013/05/09/boeing-777-fires/2147173/

[Blue_Tires]

9. The funny part is in all the "fire" examples he listed

there hasn't been one instance in history where the radio was rendered unusable by fire BUT the autopilot was still operational and the aircraft remained relatively airworthy...

That's a very magical fire, at least the way he lays it out

[Agschmid]

17. Magical indeed.

[alcibiades_mystery]

11. I believe that it was this or loss of pressurization...pilots passed out, plane kept going

It's in the Indian ocean near the end of the fuel capacity.

[SidDithers]

12. The Payne Stewart plane comes to mind...nt

Sid

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. Doesn't fit with the last known position as seen by the satellite

There's a left or right turn needed after the last known radar position to get to either the northern or southern arc.

[DanTex]

15. This sounds good except for the satellite arcs...

This thing:

[Lex]

16. The sharp left turn was PROGRAMMED not made manually.

So that doesn't sound like a fire emergency sharp turn left.

[Blue_Tires]

18. Let this be the FINAL word:

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-26640114