MH370 Disappearance

"Don't twist facts to fit your theories; when the facts do not support a theory, throw it out," said Sherlock Holmes to Dr. Watson, a number of times (or something to that effect, anyway). Oh, how could I resist not writing about the MH370 disappearance, given it's link to the themes of The Anza Deception and to, The Sympathy Wave. 

I think by now most facts point to either of two possibilities - a deliberate act, or an onboard malfunction that moved so quickly that both pilots could not react quickly enough to save the aircraft. 

The malfunction theories point to the possibility of an onboard fire, which started somewhere in the electrical circuits that control the aircraft's communication systems - ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System), then spread to the transponder and radios, before engulfing the pilots. They could have detected the fire, and tried to turn the aircraft towards a diversion airport (Langkawi is a possible target) but were overcome by fumes and perished. Under this theory, the aircraft should have crashed somewhere on a straight line between the point it turned and Langkawi. The distance depends on when the fire consumer the autopilot, and when the aircraft ran out of fuel. Boeing 777 aircraft are extremely stable - even with the autopilot disabled, the aircraft could have flown for hours before crashing. 

The other theory, that one or both pilots deliberately diverted the aircraft somewhere, is also supported by some datapoints. The best theory I've seen so far is from Capt. A Ranganathan, an experienced airline captain and contributor to The Hindu. Capt. Ranganathan has a coherent explanation for the various altitude changes made by the plane, and believes that it may be hidden somewhere to be used soon in a terrorist attack, a la 9/11. Chilling thought. You can read his article here. 

The search is currently being conducted in one of the most remote parts of the planet, off the coast of Australia. It remains to be seen whether the searchers find anything, and till then, we'll keep debating these two theories vigorously. 

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