What Really Happened to MH370?
World / 12.03.14

With all the theories and false sightings reported over the past few days regarding the tragic demise of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, and as a qualified commercial pilot myself, I decided to research the flight further and try to piece together what really happened last Saturday. This is the most logical explanation for the disappearance and the inability to locate the aircraft's location.

Four months before the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370, American transport officials warned of a potential weak spot in Boeing 777's which could lead to "loss of structural integrity of the aircraft." The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) issued an Airworthiness Directive in November, advising all 777 operators of the weakness and a recommendation to address the issue - The weak spot related to cracking in the fuselage underneath the aircraft's satellite antennae, which are responsible for GPS, ACARS, ADS-B, and ADS-C antennas and systems. Damage to these antennae could cause a loss of communication, a total decompression of the cabin or a slow loss in cabin pressure.

Chain of Events:

A crack or damage to the fuselage in the location mentioned above could cause the antennae to fail (in-turn making the aircraft disappear) and cause a slow pressure leak in the cabin. As the cabin slowly loses pressure all inhabitants including the crew would be susceptible to the effects of hypoxia (loss of oxygen, symptoms include confusion, hallucination, disorientation and unconsciousness to begin with, followed by death). A slow loss in cabin pressure would gradually impair and confuse pilots, (due to loss of oxygen), causing pilots not to realize the need for oxygen masks until it was too late. As the crew slowly fall unconscious, this would then explain the "mumbling" heard from MH370 pilots by another aircraft.

But Why Were Passengers Cellphones Still Ringing?:

The plane was equipped with cellular communication hardware, supplied by AeroMobile, to provide GSM services via satellite. However this is an aftermarket product and would not be connected through the damaged antennae. This would explain why families were able to call the MH370 passengers and get their phone to ring, but with no response. Later, when Malaysian Airlines tried to call the cellphones, the phones did not ring, as by this time, fuel would be exhausted.

Conclusion:

Malaysian Airlines recently reported its fourth quarterly loss, explaining why the maintenance recommended by the FAA to address cracks in the fuselage may have been deferred, as it was not mandatory. The incident was likely not an inflight disintegration. This was likely a slow decompression caused by damage to the fuselage and its navigation antennae, gradually depriving all crew and passengers of oxygen, causing pilots to become confused, potentially hallucinating and to act in a strange manner, changing their course before falling unconscious. Thus, leaving the autopilot to continue autonomously. MH370 basically continued to fly with a plane full of unconscious passengers - meaning the jet could be anywhere, most likely on the floor of the East China Sea, Sea of Japan, or the Pacific Ocean... thousands of miles from the current search zone, explaining the unsuccessful search efforts.



Update: The Wall Street Journal have reported that engine reporting data sent from MH370's engines shows the aircraft continued to fly on "for hours," falling inline with the theory above.