Malaysian Ghost Plane

[StarHalo]

On July 29th 2011, an Egyptair 777-200 was doing their pre-flight check with 291 passengers on board, the causeway still attached, when a fire erupted in the cockpit; checks were proceeding normally and nominally when the first officer/co-pilot heard a pop and hiss sound to the right of his seat, and fire/smoke jetted out from under the right side console. The pilot immediately ordered the first officer out and fought the fire with a fire extinguisher, to no avail. The first officer notified the crew and emergency disembarkation was underway and complete in under five minutes. Fire trucks were on scene in three minutes and extinguished the fire quickly. Seven people total suffered minor smoke inhalation, no other injuries.

Synopsis of the investigation:

The aircraft showed no defects that could have contributed to the accident. The investigation determined there were no fuel, hydraulic or oil lines near the cockpit area where the fire started. The investigation thus focussed on the crew oxygen system reasoning that the speed of the fire development required an accelerant.

The system's stainless steel supply tubes were found without any leakages, the stainless steel spring showed no evidence of arcing/electrical short circuit however most of the wiring was missing near the supply tube with evidence of melting.

The aircraft was found to differ from Boeing's design in that a clamp supporting the first officer's wiring to the oxygen mask light panel was missing. The wiring was not sleeved and a large loop of unsupported wire was found. The investigation determined that about 280 aircraft including all of Egyptair's Boeing 777s were delivered that way.

The flexible oxygen mask hoses were tested for conductivity, some of which were found not conductive with others found conductive.

It was found: "contact between aircraft wiring and oxygen system components may be possible if multiple wire clamps are missing or fractured or if wires are incorrectly installed."

A laboratory analysis concluded: "A short circuit from electrical wiring, which is supposed to be in contact with or routed near the stainless steel oxygen supply tubing, would be the most likely source to provide electrical energy to the spring. It is supposed that the stainless steel spring had been subjected to high energy level, which heated the internal spring until it became an ignition energy source, causing the flexible oxygen hose to ignite and sustain a fire. The time to failure, may took few seconds depending on the amount of energy supplied to the internal spring."

Now picture all of this happening at ~30,000 feet over the Indian Ocean; a flash fire limited to just the cockpit destroys the cockpit interior entirely while the flight is underway, possibly compounded by a hole burnt through the fuselage which has depressurized the cabin. What air there is to be used by any remaining crew would be employed trying to find a way to regain control of the plane, but that supply would last roughly less than half an hour, at which point there would be no survivors from depressurization. The plane would then theoretically hold its course waiting for the next control input until loss of fuel, when it would glide gradually to the sea.

 

[nbp]

I thought you were against the fire idea StarHalo?

 

[StarHalo]

I thought you were against the fire idea StarHalo?

Against the *cargo hold* fire idea, yes, because the fire system there would easily manage even a li-ion fire, and if it didn't there would have been some very evident skywriting on the weather satellite imagery. But a brief, intense, almost entirely contained flash fire that only destroyed the plane's interface and was then extinguished certainly fits the facts. The problem is that there's no way to test for what happens when you irreparably damage a cockpit in-flight, there's no flight simulator that would allow you to hose down the control surfaces with a flamethrower and then see what unfolds..

 

[orbital]

+

I don't buy the 'complete spontaneous combustion' of cockpit theory
at the first smell of smoke, some type of passenger safe action could have been made.



There may never be a mystery like this ever again

 

[HotWire]

Now it seems that the searchers will focus on an area where a substantial volume of pings was heard. Another 20,000 square miles to check! I think it will be found --- but finding it could take a long time....

 

[newbie66]

Maybe the Illuminati is involved. Or it may just be aliens. Who knows... Maybe we will never know in life.

 

[newbie66]

..........

 

[StarHalo]

The search is on hold after an incident; a couple of days ago, Bluefin was having some communication issues, so on winching it back up in 20 knot winds and 10 foot seas, it smacked into the side of the ship, damaging both in the process. Parts/repairs will take ~four days.

It faired better than the Nereus; four days ago, Woods Hole Oceanographic's submersible was deep-diving 10,000 meters down off the coast of New Zealand when suddenly all communication and data cut off - hours later, some debris was found floating in the area. A fault in the sub's buoyancy hardware apparently compromised the entire craft, causing the $8 million drone to be crushed like a soda can in the deep. It was in its fifth year of service, and was previously a dive depth world record holder.

 

[adwordandi]

I still can't get it. kind of strange.

 

[nbp]

Apparently now some guy is releasing a book talking about how the plane was shot down. Didn't see all the details of his theory yet.

 

[mcnair55]

Apparently now some guy is releasing a book talking about how the plane was shot down. Didn't see all the details of his theory yet.

Sounds like a fast buck merchant to me.

 

[HotWire]

Spare parts are available today to repair the transponders (Monday, May 19, 2014).

 

[HotWire]

The Bluefin 21 has resumed its search and will work for 6 more days (Wednesday, May 22, 2014).

 

[Norm]

I wish Australia had spent our $90M on other humanitarian projects, rather flight 370 which at best had a very low chance of success and involved a relatively small number of lives.

How much aid could be provided in areas that would be guaranteed to save lives?

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

I wish Australia had spent our $90M on other humanitarian projects, rather flight 370 which at best had a very low chance of success and involved a relatively small number of lives.

How much aid could be provided in areas that would be guaranteed to save lives?

Reading the linked story, 90 million is the amount that might be spent in the future,, depending on how long the search continues. Norm, why did you write as if the money has already been spent?

mcnair55, If the plane is on the ground, shouldn't the world be looking for it? what will be the cost if it is flown again?

~ Chance

 

[mcnair55]

Reading the linked story, 90 million is the amount that might be spent in the future,, depending on how long the search continues. Norm, why did you write as if the money has already been spent?

mcnair55, If the plane is on the ground, shouldn't the world be looking for it? what will be the cost if it is flown again?

~ Chance

Chance,

Do not worry they will be but joe public will not be told everything that is going on,there is more to this story than we are being told for sure.

 

[Norm]

Reading the linked story, 90 million is the amount that might be spent in the future,,

You're right of cause I hadn't done all my research (very little time spent on line recently). The news here was so poorly handled during in the event we were lead to believe there were new breaks coming through every day, when in fact they had zip.

Norm

 

[HotWire]

A Chinese ship has begun towing equipment for a bathemetric survey of the ocean floor. The survey will map the ocean floor making it safe for other assets to swim at a preset level above the ocean floor while searching for flight 370 wreckage.

 

[newbie66]

It will never be found I believe. A mystery indeed...

 

[InspectHerGadget]

They did hear the pings on multiple occasions so it is down there, just a matter of patient searching.

They did warn it would take many months, most likely to find it. Sound underwater does funny things depending on a whole host of factors.

I'm pretty much in agreements with experts on this that it will be found, that is the majority opinion.

The important facts are, the pings are not from whales or man made equipment and it is the ping from the device at the right frequency. It was detected and recorded on multiple occasions. The location of the pings also coincided with the final signal to the satellite where communication ended with an incomplete exchange.

It still isn't 100% certain, finding it but I think close to it, just a matter of time and money to find it and they seem committed to finding it.