Originally Posted by
DJ77
*** mm43 and Hyperveloce ***
No need to switch off IFE when the only electrical power source is the APU. Automatic load shedding takes cares of that. IFE and galleys are on top of the priority list for load shed.
Note that from 1825 on no flight ID and no data-2 ACARS traffic were transmitted during the various handshakes and phone calls from ground. Conspirationists will of course deduce that some bad guy found a way to prevent it. Non-conspirationists may think that the link between the data source in the a/c (AIMS or whatever it is) and the satcom equipment was somehow crippled.
Ok, so even if the IFE is switched off in cabin from the cockpit (or via a power management plan or anything else), we still would have routine ground connections set over SATCOM by the IFE when this link is operational again ? (at 18:25, for the SMS e-mail and BITE applications).
For the flight ID, it could have been the equipment generating it that was switched off too ? I still not have a clear idea on why the SATCOM was first switched off, and later switched back on, and not from the cockpit (the Perth GES would have logged that and it did not).