Quotes:
"The two Mode S transponders on a typical commercial airliner have a 500W plus transmit power!"
"There are already means of satellite tracking aircraft. It is just that on this one occasion that means was disabled - possibly deliberately"
"We have to assess risks and mitigation properly before we add our quick fixes."
I believe the most powerful transponders put out 250 watts, so you could claim that a pair of them have "500W plus transmit power". However, they transmit brief pulses, so they only consume about 10 watts. They are low power devices. Yes, there are already means of tracking planes via satellite. My point is if hand held devices like satellite phones and SPOT beacons have enough power to communicate with satellites, it obviously doesn't take much power and therefore poses little risk of causing a fire. I have no objection to assessing the risks and mitigating them, smarter people than me can figure out the details. More than a decade after 9/11 I don't see much risk of "quick fixes".