ahx00 - 12/3/2014 18:44
Obviously I've been keeping a very close eye on this because it's a 777 and an expert today said what i'd been thinking from the beginning; it would be incredible if this wasn't an act of sabotage.
I understand why you'd say that, as almost certainly the event (whatever it was) was sudden and catastrophic.
Perhaps there can still be another explaination other than sabotage (I personally think now it isn't only because of the absence of claims from anyone/any group that are deemed to be credible)...
below, at the moment seems more credible to me:
Boeing 777 weak spot warning
American transport officials warned of a potential weak spot in Boeing 777s which could lead to the "loss of structural integrity of the aircraft" four months before the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
The Federal Aviation Administration in Washington drew up an Airworthiness Directive in November. It was triggered by reports of cracking in the fuselage skin underneath a Boeing aircraft's satellite antennae.
In its directive, the FAA, which is responsible for supervising the safety of American-made aircraft such as Boeing, told airlines to look out for corrosion under the fuselage skin.
This, the FAA said, could lead to a situation where the fuselage was compromised leading to possible rapid decompression, as well as the plane breaking up.
"We received a report of cracking and corrosion in the fuselage skin underneath the SATCOM antenna adapter," the FAA said. "During a maintenance planning data inspection, one operator reported a 16-inch (40cm) crack under the three-bay SATCOM antenna adapter plate in the crown skin of the fuselage on an aeroplane that was 14 years old with approximately 14,000 total flight cycles.
"Subsequent to this crack finding, the same operator inspected 42 other aeroplanes that are between 6 and 16 years old and found some local corrosion, but no other cracking. Cracking and corrosion in the fuselage skin, if not corrected, could lead to rapid decompression and loss of structural integrity of the aeroplane."
The FAA directive in November called for additional checks to be incorporated into the routine maintenance schedule of the worldwide 777 Boeing fleet.
According to a Malaysia Airlines spokesman, the missing aircraft was serviced on February 23, with further maintenance scheduled for June 19.
