Emergency Descent Mode is available and fitted on my current aircraft - I wondered if it was fitted or an option on the Airbus but judging by the comments on here, I don't think it is. On my aircraft it sets up the descent and turns off the airway - does everything apart from open the speedbrakes in fact. I saw the descent rates achieved by this aircraft and I'm assuming the rates indicated that the speedbrakes probably weren't open - can anyone who's current on the airbus confirm that? Could that indicate that a potential incapacitation happened very early on?
I hate the speculation and my only reason for writing this is a faint hope that all on board were unconscious or so hypoxic that they didn't have too much time to contemplate their fate. Recent times have been very tough in aviation and I'm off to work this afternoon thinking of all the families and friends of the people who boarded that aircraft.
Please can we all remember that they will be very likely to find these pages and read them, looking for answers.