Originally Posted by
Magplug
For whatever reason this Zombie aircraft continued to fly the pre-programmed route without communication from Tennessee until reaching it's destination on Long Island where it ran out of FMC waypoints to follow. The autopilot likely dropped into Hdg/HdgHold at that point. The aircraft overflew it's destination (ISP) down runway 24 maintaining FL340 and continued with that heading and level until the final spiral descent in mid-Virginia. My guess is that was at the point it ran out of gas. On passing Washington, had that a/c started a descent towards the Capitol Area it would have been shot down immediately. Instead it maintained FL340 and was allowed to carry on.
It seems very likely the pilot had become incapacitated. Had that incapacitation been confined to the pilot and evident to the passengers either visually or after the expected flight time expired then likely one of them would have attempted to communicate on a radio in some manner. There is no report of any such communication which points to an incapacitation affecting all on board. LIkely a depressurisation. We understand all on board perished and our thoughts are with the family. It may be small relief to the family but it is likely that all on board were peacefully unconscious for some time before the crash took place.
As an ex-military pilot I was obliged to carry out depressurisation training at two-yearly intervals throughout my service. After I moved to the airlines I never understood why that was not mandated for professionally licenced airline pilots.
Back in my RAF days and even as an engineer who flew in fast jet back seats (air tests, trips to assess/repair landaways) I was required to regularly attend North Luffenham for hypobaric chamber hypoxia training etc. I was surprised to discover that civvy airline pilots (and cabin crew) do not do likewise.