How significant is the lack of a distress signal from the pilots, and of evidence of passengers using their mobile phones?
Very significant. Starting on the flight deck: the order of priorities of any pilot is clear: aviate (ie keep the aircraft flying), navigate (achieve the desired course and altitude), communicate. If the crew were dealing with a complex and unforeseen problem, they would quite properly focus on the issue rather than contacting the ground or other aircraft. But it appears that a number of manoeuvres were performed that would seem to allow enough time for one or other pilot to broadcast a warning.
If passengers became aware of an unusual or sinister development, it is highly likely that at least some of them would switch on their mobile phones a few of which would be expected to register on networks while briefly flying over the Malayan peninsula. But the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission reports no such contact.
It is possible that passengers were unaware of the change in course, or that they were incapacitated, for example by depressurisation of the cabin.
Once the aircraft was some distance from land, any contact with ground stations would be impossible.
http://www.independent.co.uk/travel...-been-keeping-information-secret-9214930.html
bbm
When I try to go through scenarios of what might have happened, I read something yesterday which made me consider that it could be that the passengers and crew did not know what was going on. In that case, it would most definately have to have been pilot suicide, b/c the guy was saying that the pilot could have incapacitated the co-pilot, and then locked the cockpit and prevented anyone from coming in.
However, I don't know how the flight attendants would fit into that picture. Wouldn't they suspect something if the pilot was not responding to their calls? (like for example, do you need a drink, snack, etc.?).
And it would require the pilot to turn off the tv screens (which usually show the location of the plane...well I guess there would be no location shown anyway if the transponder was turned off).
The other thing is, the passengers might not have noticed any turns, but I would think the crew would have noticed huge turns, and since they probably have gone KL-Beijing route before, maybe they would know someting was wrong?
IDK. But I was just thinking that, at that time of the night, a lot of passengers were probably asleep. And without flight map on their screens, how would they know they were goiing in the wrong directions? (if the above scenario played out). They would just be sleeping or reading or whatever they were doing.
One thing is the altitude changes, but we don't really know if it was gradual ascent and descent or if it was sudden changes. The sudden changes would have certainly alerted passengers, but would gradual changes have alerted them? What if the information is wrong that the cabin would depressurize at 43 or 45,000 feet? I read somewhere that Boeing wouldn't have made the 777 capable of depressurizng at just a few thousand feet above its limit. ?? IDK. So if we didn't have depressurizing, and we had gradual ascent and descent, would the passengers have noticed (especially if they were sleeping?)?
Of course, this theory would only work for pilot suicide. Because hijackers would have had to make a scene to get into the cockpit.
JMO.
