Could a cockpit fire explain MH370’s disappearance, British lawyer asks
After
reporting several fanciful theories to explain the mystery of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, British tabloid Daily Mail is now quoting a lawyer who suggested that a cockpit fire could have been the reason behind the plane's disappearance.
The tabloid said a fire in the cockpit of a Boeing 777 in Egypt in 2011 could have happened in the plane that carried 239 people when it vanished on March 8 while en route to Beijing.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER aircraft has yet to be found but investigators say satellite data showed it could have ended up in the southern Indian Ocean, where an international hunt has been taking place this past week.
The Daily Mail reported that Stewarts Law, which has litigated in a series of air disasters, believes a flight-deck fire and oxygen failure may have caused the disappearance of flight MH370.
Speculation has been rife about whether foul play by either the pilots or someone aboard led the aircraft to disappear, the tabloid reported, but said the fire which led to a Boeing 777 being written off in Egypt could explain flight MH370's disappearance.
James Healy-Pratt, a member of the firm who is also a pilot believes the plane crashed after a fire broke out aboard.
"We believe in the simpler explanation that there was probably a form of electrical fire leading to a rapid decompression and that then resulted in the turn-back and the aircraft disappearing somewhere in the Indian Ocean," he told The Times.
The British law firm, which is advising families of the missing passengers, is comparing the current situation with a fire that broke out on the flight deck of an EgyptAir Boeing 777-200 with 291 passengers on board as it prepared to depart for Jeddah from Cairo airport.
When the captain was preparing the aircraft for departure the oxygen levels were normal, the paper reported.
But 30 minutes later the first officer heard a pop followed by a hissing sound underneath a cockpit window to the right.
The captain tried to put it out using the fire extinguisher available in the cockpit, but it was too powerful and firefighters worked at extinguishing it for over an hour. The crew and passengers escaped without injury, but seven people including passengers, Egyptair staff and fire fighters suffered from mild asphyxia and were transferred to hospitals.
After an investigation Egypt's Aircraft Accident Investigation Central Directorate (EAAICD) released their final report which revealed that the fire originated near the first officer's oxygen mask supply tubing.
Oxygen from the flight crew oxygen system is suspected to have contributed to the fire's intensity and speed.
The cause of the fire could not be conclusively determined. It is not yet known whether the oxygen system breach occurred first, providing a flammable environment or whether the oxygen system breach occurred as a result of the fire.
Investigators pinpointed a problem with the cockpit hose used to provide oxygen for the crew in the event of decompression, the paper said.
Following the 2011 blaze, US aircraft owners were instructed to replace the system - it was estimated to cost US$2,596 (RM8,500) per aircraft.
It was not known whether Malaysia Airlines had carried out the change, the Daily Mail said.
"In simple terms, this fault can cause a blowtorch type fire that will melt aluminium in a matter of seconds," Healy-Pratt told The Telegraph.
"We believe that in due course, the crew will be regarded as heroes rather than villains, and we sincerely hope the Black Boxes will contain the data to back that up, and to prevent further needless loss of life," Healy-Pratt added.
The cockpit fire theory has been supported by Chris Goodfellow, a Canadian pilot with 20 years experience, who hailed Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah as a hero, not a hijacker, in his fascinating explanation, which claims to debunks all theories about the fate of the missing jet.
He insists the only reasonable scenario is that a fire broke out aboard the plane and Zaharie was doing exactly what he needed to do in an emergency - get the plane to the nearest airport as soon as possible. – March 28, 2014.
