"Apparently after". This should mean that Fariq Abdul Hamid must have been aware of the comms shutdown which happened prior to his last message. A planned job I would recon. Was Fariq Abdul Hamid the PIC? Perhaps he was already alone as the captain stepped out to rest (was up for already about 15hrs).
Btw - someone pointed out a few thousand posts back that a heavy 777 is unable to get to FL450. Thoughts?
- I would think it possible to disable ACARS without the pilot alongside knowing. There are plenty of Maint functions via the MCDU type boxes that some pilots know a lot about, some play with, others (like me) have no clue!
- It was a 2 crew flight, Capt would not "go back to rest". He might go out to use the toilet, but any "rest" would be in his seat.
- How "heavy" was this flight? Relatively short flight - just because FL450 is above the "Max Permitted FL" does not mean it could not get there. If one is prepared to fly at a reduced buffet level, say <1.3g, then my research shows FL450 is not out of the question, esp if the FL450 is a primary radar value (hence inaccurate, and not related to FL450 in altimeter terms). NB the 50 empty seats might relate to cargo v MZFW, not MTOW.