Originally Posted by
Loose rivets
Debris, personal items, BEFORE impact. This would surely change everything? Unless violent stresses on the airframe were so great the structural integrity had been compromised.
Just a thought RE: eye witness accounts of smoke, debris, strange noises etc.
The last FR24 data point has the A/C at 383kts GS. At 8000' that's 339kts EAS (assuming still air) which is perilously close to Vmo (Not sure exactly for the MAX but I believe 340kts for the -800)
They apparently flew for a good 3 mins or so after this, so could well have exceeded Vmo, at which point you're liable to start having parts falling off your A/C, particularly given the unusual loading state with fluctuations in the Vertical speed.
This could account for the eye witness accounts and potentially the eventual complete loss of control and crash, whatever it was that caused them to get in this sorry position in the first place (I know what my money's on).