I think discussion of whether a “professional” maker of a video showing a man sitting at a desk, with some CGI (ex flight sim) footage, needs sponsorship, is better done here 
CVR would have been overwritten during the flight and the FDR would only confirm what we know
I am not sure about either. But if you assume it was suicide then logically a search is wasted; I agree.
Have things like seats been found? I have not heard that. Bits of control surfaces, yes. I do recall from another analysis that a flap was broken off while deployed, so it was a controlled landing, probably at around 150kt, and the airframe ought not to totally break up then.
CVR would have been overwritten during the flight
I doubt CVR can be overwritten during the flight, maybe deliberately disabled after certain point in the flight. That would preserve the content up to that point in the time which also speaks a lot for itself.
Emir wrote:
I doubt CVR can be overwritten during the flight
My understanding is that CVRs record 2 or 3 hours on a loop. As the flight was 7+ hours, the early part of the flight would have been overwritten. Perhaps one of the airline pilots here can chime in.
Peter wrote:
Have things like seats been found? I have not heard that.
Nor have I, but consider where the pieces that were found turned up – along the African east coast. These are areas where any flotsam is either used, burned or discarded. Unless it’s something really unusual, nobody there would call the authorities. Even if some stuff were to wash up on the coast of Western Australia it’s rather unlikely to be found, as this is one of the least populated areas of the planet.
My understanding is that CVRs record 2 or 3 hours on a loop. As the flight was 7+ hours, the early part of the flight would have been overwritten. Perhaps one of the airline pilots here can chime in.
It depends on CVR type and how old it is. If it was permanently disabled then the beginning of recording is preserved. However, if it was disabled and then later on enabled (like ACARS) and if worked as you suggest then it’s gone. We definitely need someone who’s familiar with type to shed some light.
That has been the scenario that I have been kind of dreading; that the recorders are found, but without any information because they were disabled, either intentionally, as the current accepted history, or as part of general electrical failures.
Maybe some of the wreckage can give some clues, due to some clever detective work from the investigators. But the idea that the wreckage and recorders are found and we are then still nowhere close to solving the mystery, apart from confirming the final crash site, is quite unsettling….
I don’t get the obsession with a clearly one-off event – except for the relatives and friends of those who died. The 777 is a very safe aircraft, the fleet has accumuilated tens of millions of hours. There is clear evidence the aircraft crashed in the south Indian ocean after being deliberately flown there, and the probability that it was a mechanical or computer fault is so close to zero that it makes no difference.
Other than some sort of closure for the relatives and friends, there is absolutely nothing useful to be gained from finding the wreckage. If / when / how exactly who disabled what or exacly how or where the aircraft came down is completely irrelevant for the safety of flight. This is vastly different from the AF447 crash where learning about the full extent of muppetry in the cockpit led to improved training so recovering the recorders was worth it.
If someone wants to spend their own money on a hunt – fine, but why on earth should any authority or state spend even a penny on this?
This is vastly different from the AF447 crash where learning about the full extent of muppetry in the cockpit led to improved training so recovering the recorders was worth it.
Which wasn’t known prior to the recovery. The same could apply to MH370. Until then it will remain speculation.
AF447 was an accident, MH370 a deliberate act.
While exactly how it was pulled off may satisfy our curiosity, I don’t see what we could possibly learn to prevent reoccurrence. The risk that a suicidal flight crew member brings down an aircraft is known. There are literally dozens of way it can be done, and some ways don’t even require you to lock out or incapacitate the other pilot – for example just push the nose down on short final (see Japan Airlines 350). There is one every few years, methods vary.
It may of course have been the act of a terrorist (of the introvert variety that does not take credit for their acts), but again what would we learn?
While technically it is speculation that it was a deliberate act, there isn’t an even remotely plausible alternative.
but why on earth should any authority or state spend even a penny on this?
No authority or government or state owns any money – all money they govern is a property of tax payers. If there’s a mechanism for Malaysian citizens to persuade their government to spend their money to re-launch the search, it can happen. Other than that you’re right, nobody else will spend their money to do that and some private funding is not likely to happen.
Cobalt wrote:
I don’t get the obsession with a clearly one-off event
It’s because of the mystery. People love mysteries.
AF447 was an accident, MH370 a deliberate act.
As Snoopy pointed out, we had no idea of the cause of AF447 until the CVR and FDR were miraculously recovered almost two years after the accident. We still don’t know that MH370 was a deliberate act, although it appears likely.
