Nah, mechanical failure, down under the sea before anyone knew what was going on.

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:32, 2 replies, latest was 11 years ago)

But why didn't the black-box-that-goes-off-on-immediate-contact-with-water go off?
Also, wouldn't the systems have started screaming at ATC that the plane was way too low?
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:33, Reply)

Wasn't under ATC at that point, plus transponders turned off, so no screaming possible.

(localboy purveyor of pisspoor puns, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:35, Reply)

Still sounds suspicious - it would have had to have gone down very bloody quickly.

( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:49, Reply)

It takes a fair while to fall 5 miles

(localboy purveyor of pisspoor puns, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:33, Reply)

For a massive fuck off plane that can flying at 600mph?

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:38, Reply)

it's not going 600mph in a straight line when it's falling, though...

( rachelswipe with a fork, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:41, Reply)

Well it ain't slowing down as it plummets towards the sea

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:41, Reply)

Any horizontal speed is likely to make it stay up longer if anything
Other than that it's terminal velocity vertical, less air resistance.
Whether making a call is your first thought while being effectively thrown around the aircraft like a rag doll along with everyone else and their luggage is another matter......
(localboy purveyor of pisspoor puns, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:48, Reply)

It's not going straight down, either.
Planes are designed to fly. They want to stay in the air, their entire bodies are specifically constructed to generate as much lift as possible, they don't just drop out of the sky.
( Kroney, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:49, Reply)

They're also designed to come back down again

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:50, Reply)

You idiot.

( Kroney, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:50, Reply)

I'm not claiming to be an authority on aerodynamics, I just think it is plausible that a plane could come down quite quickly.

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:02, Reply)

I am under no illusion that you are an authority, old bean.
The only way an aircraft with an active autopilot will come down "quite quickly" from cruising altitude is if a wing fell off.
( Kroney, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:03, Reply)

We can at least agree on me being an idiot then.

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:03, Reply)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft
( Kroney, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:06, Reply)

they can but you would need a lot of system failures
in order for it to happen, there are back up for the back ups,
(Bonzodog29 is an unemployed sponge of the worst kind, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:03, Reply)

It's almost as though they're designed to stay in the air.

( Kroney, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:05, Reply)

Maybe it's still up there somewhere then?

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:05, Reply)

Purposeful idiocy is still idiocy.

( Kroney, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:07, Reply)

You should take comfort in the fact that I have had no hand in the design of any aeroplanes then.

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:08, Reply)

what DO you do?
it's something in IT, isn't it?
( rachelswipe with a fork, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:08, Reply)

It's nothing in IT

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:09, Reply)

you've got IT written all over your face

( rachelswipe with a fork, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:12, Reply)

Ok Adam Ant calm down

(Bonzodog29 is an unemployed sponge of the worst kind, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:12, Reply)

Lots of comfort. Lots and lots and lots.

( Kroney, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:09, Reply)

^Very soft clothes^

(Bonzodog29 is an unemployed sponge of the worst kind, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:14, Reply)

Maybe on a good solid British plane, but these yellow fellows are renowned for cutting corners.

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:05, Reply)

boeing is american
what do you think about them yanks?
( rachelswipe with a fork, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:07, Reply)

It was a mistake to let them run their own affairs.

( tangledupinblue hairy badge with moving eyes, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:09, Reply)

This is something we can agree on.
They've made a right bloody shambles of it.
( Kroney, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:10, Reply)

they glide for something like 60 miles
without fuel from 25000 ft, assuming they are piloted.
(Bonzodog29 is an unemployed sponge of the worst kind, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:54, Reply)

Assuming the autopilot's still active, it will attempt to maintain altitude and airspeed.
If all the control surfaces are still active, it certainly won't just drop like a brick. Without fuel it will attempt to maintain a controlled glide.

I'm agreeing with you here, by the way.
( Kroney, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 10:58, Reply)

HOW DARE YOU AGREE WITH ME

(Bonzodog29 is an unemployed sponge of the worst kind, Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:01, Reply)

If all the engines simultaneously died, it's possible to glide it for up to 50 miles.
Loads of time to get a mayday off. Given that the plane was still automatically sending out engine data for hours afterwards, I think we can discount it dropping out of the sky or exploding in mid air.
(Reverend Fister "a disciplined fuckwit", Thu 27 Mar 2014, 11:14, Reply)