As you are aware all aircraft were grounded following the crash for a number of days. How did they know what to check if they had no idea what happened.They didn't check the whole fleet out end to end they were looking at certain areas.
The following is based only on what I have heard from open sources:
The crew reported a bomb-bay fire in their mayday. Eye-witnesses saw a fire coming from the underside of the aircraft before it exploded. The crew had just tanked. The aircraft was over a region with hostile ground forces.
So, what are the possibilities?
1. Hostile action - was the aircraft inside the threat envelope of hostile weapon systems? No? - rule out enemy action.
2. Where was the fire reported/seen? Bomb-bay - concentrate efforts in that area.
3. What could possibly cause a fire in the bomb-bay? Ordnance - was the aircraft carrying any? No? Rule that out. Electrical? Could a purely electrical fire cause the intensity of fire reported? Possibly. Hydraulic fluid? Possible. Fuel lines? Just tanked - more likely candidate for the intense fire.
So, based on the above the things to check the rest of the fleet for immediately after the accident was narrowed down to just a few areas. It is unlikely they knew "what to check if they had no idea what happened" as they did have some idea what happened, an intense bomb-bay fire, which narrows down the possible causes. Exactly what happened is left to the long-term investigation by the BOI, but the tempo of ops meant that the rest of the fleet needing checking immediately for any obvious signs of the cause.
I am in the camp that await the findings of the BOI to see what they assess the cause of this tragic accident to be. Like others here, I know some of the members and trust them to to their up most in order to find the cause.
MadMark!!!
