If it was a, um, seat malfunction, the pilot's account that all the instrument panels blacked out before mysteriously reappearing was devised very quickly and will not hold water very long?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only mention of the panels going blank is from a passenger who claims the Captain told him that.
Maybe he did, but passengers often say some 'interesting' things after they've been involved in a newsworthy event and a camera/microphone is thrust in front of them.