I second that, YOP. Alot of speculation on here from armchair heroes. Something fishy is going on here, it seems to me exceedingly illogical that a brand new 737 with 150 hours on it plants itself in the ocean with the sole reason that they might have been using a P2F first officer or something similar.
It just does not make sense. Although it might have been a contributing factor, we have no idea about any mechanical or meteorological circumstances that might have contributed to this. As the crew reportedly had the capacity to make a mayday and a brace for impact call, something tells me that they were very aware of what was happening to them and where they were headed.
I am looking forward to some facts. Last but not least, the cabin crew seems to have done a good job evacuating everybody so at least a +1 for that.
faust
PS: I started out as a 148TT hero on a turboprop [Q400]. If you get trained well and fly with experienced skippers, that should not be a problem. Airlines with excellent safety records have been doing this for decades.