Originally Posted by
Cerebrito
Without finding the flight data recorder. Would there be any audible indication that this is what the co-pilot has done?
If the plane was for any reason descending for any sort of malfunction (mechanical, flight computer, whatever), could the co-pilot have been too busy trying to take control of the plane to open the door to the pilot?
The ACARS data apparently backs up the hypothesis that he reprogrammed the flight computer.
It is illogical to guess that the co-pilot was bravely battling a malfunction alone, when his more experienced colleague was just centimetres away, and barred from assisting with the problem by the co-pilot's continuing refusal to allow him access (a finger touch was all that was required. That same finger touch was used, several times perhaps, to prolong the captain's period of being locked outside). If the door had malfunctioned, why would the co-pilot have remained silent? Fear may affect people in different ways, but the transcripts from most other incidents show that silence in the cockpit is NOT the usual response to a recognition of trouble.