Originally posted by Chris Scott ...
... with the high probability of a double-engine failure leading to a ditching, the flight crew would know that the cabin crew must prepare the passengers accordingly. The fact that this was not done suggests there was insufficient time, and/or the cabin crew were unable to reach either their interphones or the cockpit, due to an upset.
There are some indicators that will help, e.g.
- Those bodies recovered were probably not strapped in at the onset of the upset.
- Some abnormal 'g' forces were experienced throughout the upset period.
- A major pitch up in heavy turbulence could have resulted in a rapid negative CG shift - unbelted cabin crew and pax thrown toward the rear of the cabin.
- Any ensuing spin/rotation would have introduced forces that prevented cabin crew and pax returning to their seats.
In short, the longitudinal stability at some point became compromised.