Originally Posted by
ILS27LEFT
We all probably agree that this was a very sudden event however we cannot exclude that the trigger was an external object going straight into the cockpit through the windscreen, terrorism obviously should not be excluded but the Acars messages, if confirmed, are also compatible with various other events beyond terrorism including , as an example, sudden loss of cabin pressure after compromised windscreen. I know it is extremely unlikely but we all know that it is not totally impossible for an aircraft to hit something...a tiny object can cause a total loss of aircraft if the impact point is vulnerable e.g. badly damaged windscreen at max altitude, high speed, can easily lead to a catastrophic series of events. Acars messages look genuine. Terrorists look for maximum carnage: this was a very late flight, low nr of pax, and why wait such a long time into the flight?... more likely an incident caused by an external object or internal interference but probably nothing to do with terrorism, unless something went very wrong in this individual's plan hence the illogical delay. No terrorist group has claimed responsibility neither which is unusual.
You make a very valid point. One day years ago when I was flying and we had just commenced descent, we had a meteorite flash very close to us and in fact ATC contacted us (we were approx 50m from the radar centre) to say they heard a sonic boom and asked if we were ok. Now I understand they burn up at a reasonably high altitude but still is there a possibility this could ever happen does anyone know?