Malaysian Jet

Quote: Wizard

What do you think the fair line should be on at least one living survivor ever being found?

Quote: Fleastiff

Also, the maneuvering is being described as evasive, but it is in fact a perfectly proper and correct response of any well trained pilot who has just detected an onboard fire. .

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On the afternoon of May 11, 1996, Flight 592 pushed back from gate G2 in Miami after a delay of 1 hour and 4 minutes due to mechanical problems.[1] There were 105 passengers, mainly from Florida and Georgia, on board, as well as a crew of two pilots and three flight attendants, bringing the total number of people on board to 110. At 2:04 pm, 10 minutes before the disaster, the DC-9 took off from runway 9L and began a normal climb.

At 2:10 pm, Captain Candalyn Kubeck and First Officer Richard Hazen heard a loud bang in their headphones and noticed the plane was losing electrical power. Seconds later, flight attendant Mandy Summers entered the cockpit and advised the flight crew of a fire in the passenger cabin. Passengers' shouts of "fire, fire, fire" were recorded on the plane's cockpit voice recorder when the cockpit door was opened. Though the ValuJet flight attendant manual stated that the cockpit door should not be opened when smoke or other harmful gases might be present in the cabin, the intercom was disabled and there was no other way to inform the pilots of what was happening. The CDR indicated a progressive failure of the DC-9's electrical and flight control systems due to the spreading fire.

Kubeck and Hazen immediately asked air traffic control for a return to Miami due to smoke in the cockpit and cabin, and were given instructions for a return to the airport. One minute later, Hazen requested the nearest available airport. Kubeck began to turn the plane left in preparation for the return to Miami.

Flight 592 disappeared from radar at 2:13:42 pm. It rolled onto its side and crashed to the ground nose-first in the Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area in the Everglades, a few miles west of Miami, at a speed in excess of 507 miles per hour (816 km/h). Control of the plane was completely lost less than 10 seconds prior to impact and examination of debris suggested that the fire burned through the floorboards in the cockpit, resulting in structural failure and damage to cables underneath the instrument panels. However, it was also just as likely that the crew had become incapacitated by smoke and fumes. As power had been lost to the cockpit voice recorder nearly a minute prior to impact, it was impossible to determine with certainty.[1]

Kubeck, Hazen, the three flight attendants, and all 105 passengers aboard were killed. Recovery of the aircraft and victims was made extremely difficult by the location of the crash. The nearest road of any kind was more than a quarter mile (400 m) away from the crash scene, and the location of the crash itself was a deep-water swamp with a floor made out of solid limestone. The DC-9 was utterly destroyed on impact, with no large pieces of the fuselage remaining. Sawgrass, alligators, and risk of bacterial infection from cuts plagued searchers involved in the recovery effort.

A group of fishermen witnessed the crash and reported that "The plane was flying in a steep right bank, after which it turned so that the nose was facing downward in a nearly vertical angle. It plummeted into the swamp followed by an explosion, shock wave, and a massive geyser of water." They reported seeing no external damage to the DC-9 or any sign of fire or smoke other than the engine exhaust. A group of sightseers in a small private plane also witnessed the crash and provided a nearly identical account, stating that Flight 592 seemed to "disappear" after impacting the swamp and they could see nothing but scattered small debris and part of an engine near the crash site

Quote: beachbumbabs

I still think, ridiculous as it seems, that the aircraft is most likely landed somewhere and under cover. It's neither that expensive nor that difficult to build a large open hangar with camoflage overhead, on a private island, or in a rustic country, with many in range. It's only 7000 feet of runway. I think this is only Chapter 1.

Quote: Wizard

It is exactly that kind of scenario that I offered to bet on at least one survivor at 200 to 1.

Quote: Wizard

It is exactly that kind of scenario that I offered to bet on at least one survivor at 200 to 1.

Quote: Evenbob

I'm sticking with what the expert in the first week said. Pilot suicide

Quote: Pacomartin

Anything is possible. But I doubt that the pilot could fly a plane for several hours with or without a load of screaming passengers, just to crash into the sea. It's inconsistent with suicidal behavior.