Did MH370 pilot depressurize cabin?

The program's experts said Zaharie depressurised the plane to incapacitate passengers and other crew through hypoxia (oxygen deficiency), and used an emergency air supply to stay conscious. He then repressurised the plane for the rest of the journey.



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By Cleve R. Wootson Jr. All but one of the 239 people on the doomed Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had probably been unconscious — incapacitated by the sudden depressurization of the Boeing 777 — and had no way of knowing they were on an hours-long, meandering path to their deaths.

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Despite extensive search operations, the MH370 was never found. Some claims about the MH370 debris washing ashore did pop up now and then, but there was never any conclusive evidence or claims that the debris actually was of MH370. No dead bodies were found either and neither was the plane's black box.

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Malaysia's transport ministry released a transcript today of voice transmission from the plane's cockpit, with the final words, “Good night Malaysian three-seven-zero.”The government had previously said the final words were “All right, good night.”

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Is it possible that the passengers of Malaysian flight MH370 are alive? No, not possible. Many relatives & conspiracy junkies cling to hope (or bizarre theories), but in truth 28 pieces of Boeing 777 debris were located, six of which can be positively linked to MH370 by unique serial numbers, or exclusive markings.

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After the discovery of the debris, some speculated that flight 370 was shot down, but no evidence of shrapnel from a missile or other projectiles has been found.

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Several other planes have disappeared in the region including five US bombers that vanished in 1945, but in spite of massive air and sea searches, no trace of the bodies or aircraft was ever found. In 2009 a flight from Rio De Janeiro to Paris crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing 228 passengers and crew.

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Malaysian police identified the captain as the prime suspect if human intervention was the cause of the disappearance, after clearing all others on the flight of suspicion over possible motives.

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Most aircraft cabins are pressurized to an altitude of 8,000 feet, called cabin altitude. Aircraft pilots have access to the mode controls of a cabin pressure control system and – if needed – can command the cabin to depressurize.

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Some 83 aircraft have been declared “missing” since 1948, according to data compiled by the Aviation Safety Network. The list includes planes capable of carrying more than 14 passengers and where no trace — bodies or debris — has ever been found. Related Graphic: Where Could Flight 370 Be? >>

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Pilot-assisted suicide A common theory is that Captain Shah locked the first officer out of the flight deck. He switched off the communications systems that were designed to keep MH370 in touch with air-traffic controllers; donned an oxygen mask; and depressurised the aircraft.

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Not only did this confirm the plane was not intact, but modelling of ocean currents concluded that MH370 crashed in the southern Indian Ocean near Western Australia, and ocean currents then transported debris to Africa a year later.

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MH370 had in its cargo hold 5 tons of mangosteens — a sweet tropical fruit about as big as a tangerine — along with 221kg of lithium-ion batteries. The items were being carried from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, another source of revenue for the flight along with the 239 people it was carrying.

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The Malaysian passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 included Datin Biby Nazli Mohd Hassim, Chen Wei Hiong, Karmooi Chew, Ch'ng Mei Ling, Anne Daisy, Dina Mohamed Ramli, Huajin Guan, Puiheng Hue, Lee Kah Kin, Lee Sew Chu and Lim Pou Chua, among others.

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Pilot and Vietnam War veteran Pete Jordan knows exactly what happens when a pressurized cabin decompresses 30,000 feet in the air at 300 to 600 mph: There's no oxygen, and it gets damn cold in a hurry. An open door would release the cabin's ball of pressure, causing an immediate suction explosion.

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