stranger than fiction
After my first post (I usually keep quiet) has gone for inexplicable reasons (thanks BOAC for saving part of it), I would like to introduce back some facts into the game, based on earlier messages from rather reliable sources.
First of all, the only half-way reliable information we have are the ACARS messages (of which I am not sure they are complete after 0214, but maybe someone has an answer to that). They indicate (mostly) the following:
- Pitot probes had disagreeing values
- AP disengaged (automatically, a crew switching it off does NOT cause an ACARS message), which is - according to AB manuals a logical consequence of contradicting true air speed input
- There was a cabin pressure warning (yet not indicating anything severe)
A few more (as I know) related facts:
- The plane had normal power at least until 0214 (otherwise there would have been no ACARS message)
- Free fall from 0210-0214 (or anything close to free fall) is impossible, given the laws of physics
- There were (high probability, as we see messages from the previous day) no other ACARS warnings or faults before 0210
That's my 1/2 cent, delete it or not.