Wired Magazine posted an article on its website today about the disappearance of Flight 370. It is not a happy explanation for the disappearance of the flight, but it is definitely an explanation that makes sense.
The article points out that pilots are very well versed on nearby airports they can reach if anything goes wrong on the airplane. When the pilots altered their course, it is very possible that they were headed toward Palau Langkawi, a 13,000-foot airstrip with an approach over water and no obstacles. The captain did not turn back to Kuala Lampur because he knew he had 8,000-foot ridges to cross. He knew the terrain was friendlier toward Langkawi, which also was closer.
This is part of the theory put forth in the article that there was a fire on board the plane.
The article states:
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.
There are two types of fires. An electrical fire might not be as fast and furious, and there may or may not be incapacitating smoke. However there is the possibility, given the timeline, that there was an overheat on one of the front landing gear tires, it blew on takeoff and started slowly burning. Yes, this happens with underinflated tires. Remember: Heavy plane, hot night, sea level, long-run takeoff. There was a well known accident in Nigeria of a DC8 that had a landing gear fire on takeoff. Once going, a tire fire would produce horrific, incapacitating smoke. Yes, pilots have access to oxygen masks, but this is a no-no with fire. Most have access to a smoke hood with a filter, but this will last only a few minutes depending on the smoke level. (I used to carry one in my flight bag, and I still carry one in my briefcase when I fly.)
What I think happened is the flight crew was overcome by smoke and the plane continued on the heading, probably on George (autopilot), until it ran out of fuel or the fire destroyed the control surfaces and it crashed.
This theory also makes sense because if the plane was hijacked by terrorists, some group would have probably taken credit for the hijacking by now. The other option is that the plane was hijacked to be used in an attack later on. I am hoping that option is wrong.
The theory in Wired Magazine makes sense. Hopefully there will be some evidence found in the near future that will comfort those whose loved ones were on the plane.
