"Radar signals recorded by the Malaysian military appear to show the airliner climbing to 45,000 feet (about 13,700 meters), higher than a Boeing 777's approved limit, soon after it disappeared from civilian radar, and making a sharp turn to the west. The radar track then shows the plane descending unevenly to an altitude of 23,000 feet (7,000 meters), below normal cruising levels, before rising again"
Sounds to me like a possible fight/commotion in the cockpit was the cause of the plane to fly in such a weird pattern.
Potential Scenario:
- Fight in cockpit results in the plane flying unexpectedly high ("above approved limit")
- Hijackers obtain control, turn off transponder and turn to their target location
- Unexperienced pilot (possibly learned how to only fly smaller planes) makes an "unevenly" descent to lower altitudes as he knows the plane is above its approved limit
- Rise again could be a second fight in the cockpit? Not sure on how to explain this one.
The rising and falling in altitudes makes me suspect this wasn't pilot suicide.
Why would a plane ascend because of a struggle in the cockpit? You don't just climb 15000 ft at that altitude because someone fell over the controls. Someone had control at that point. Had there been a struggle, a descent would be the most likely outcome. All the explanations I've heard so far contains way too many assumptions. Ockham's razor.
Here's another scenario: hypoxia. Makes you retarded and euphoric. Like being drunk but with less disassociation. Suddently, it's a great idea to climb! Oh wait, nope. Better descend. Are we on course? Better turn.
Hypoxia and/or stress. Look at AF447. All pilots know what a stall is. But when you're flying at night in bad weather with S:t Elmo's fire all around you and the airspeed indicator stops working and you believe you need to climb, you might react without thinking. Oh, we're losing altitude? Better pull up!
Sounds to me like a possible fight/commotion in the cockpit was the cause of the plane to fly in such a weird pattern.
Potential Scenario:
- Fight in cockpit results in the plane flying unexpectedly high ("above approved limit")
- Hijackers obtain control, turn off transponder and turn to their target location
- Unexperienced pilot (possibly learned how to only fly smaller planes) makes an "unevenly" descent to lower altitudes as he knows the plane is above its approved limit
- Rise again could be a second fight in the cockpit? Not sure on how to explain this one.
The rising and falling in altitudes makes me suspect this wasn't pilot suicide.