remote;
Re "nice to hear the thomsonfly guys recently said "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY" at the outset, and no-one was in any confusion as to their status..."
FWIW, it's my understanding that in Japan the PAN call won't get the attention or consideration of ATC and that the only call that will is the Mayday call. Absolutely, the Thomsonfly crew did the right thing.
bubbers44;
Disconnecting the generators may or may not have stopped the fire. I don't think the point at which the fire became self-sustaining (kapton and insulation-fed) is known. I understand from one source that the MD11 Smoke of Unknown Origin checklist by shutting down airflow to the cabin (aft of the fire source) actually reversed the airflow so that the smoke and fire progressed forward, to the cockpit. Perhaps some MD11 crews here can comment on this.
Idle Thrust;
The ATC transcript was widely available on the internet very shortly after the accident and is so now.
Not every accident report has (or should) include the ATC or CVR transcript and the veracity of the report should not be judged on such absence.