A question for those who know A 320 cabin sidewall materials.
There was an image earlier in this thread of a damaged sidewall, including the window surround, that was recovered at sea. The sidewall was neatly cut across the top, is though it had been sheared.
Is there anything other than high speed aerodynamic stresses that can shear a composite structure so cleanly?
It seemed to me that this bit of debris was pretty strong evidence that the aircraft had broken up in flight. Is this a mistaken belief?
Certainly the absence of any cockpit communications during a long fall from 30 odd thousand feet is more consistent with a catastrophe than an icing/loss of control scenario.
After all, they were in ongoing ATC communication, unlike AF447.
Last edited by etudiant; 4th Jan 2015 at 19:55.