Originally Posted by
LarryJ
China doesn't follow western protocols.
The flight had three pilots in the cockpit. When one took a lav break there'd still be two remaining.
The known information is consistent with a high-altitude upset. It's also consistent with an intentional act. It's also consistent with an unknown mechanical failure. It's likely also consistent with possibilities that we haven't thought of yet.
We aren't going to be able to start eliminating possibilities until we get the information from the flight recorders. I wouldn't be surprised if some information from them comes out within the next week.
Again, while those other possibilities can't be entirely eliminated, mechanical failures don't often result in planes straight nose-diving to the ground. Regardless, this is a thread for speculation since none of us here actually know what happened. My speculation, FWIW, is this was pilot suicide.