Aviation lawyer Steve Marks suggests that the absence of distress signals from the Malaysia Airlines flight points to a catastrophic failure at high altitude. Marks, a partner at Podhurst Orseck who has worked on similar air disaster cases, contrasts this incident with Air France Flight 447, which transmitted numerous error messages before it crashed. The complete lack of electronic or radio communication from the Boeing 777 leads him to speculate that the plane may have broken up, experienced a sudden loss of pressurization, or suffered a total electrical failure. He notes that if the plane had broken up in mid-air, the debris would have floated down, whereas an explosion would leave burn damage on the wreckage. While a loss of pressurization could incapacitate the crew, Marks considers this less likely because the plane would have continued to fly on autopilot for hours.
Read the full article: USA Today
Originally published by Bart Jansen | Mar 8, 2014 | USA Today
