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Malaysia Airlines flight not hijacked says Lockerbie expert
An aviation expert who gave evidence at Lockerbie trial says the plane was not hijacked, and its pilots are likely heroes
Billie Vincent, the former head of security at the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and a key witness in the Lockerbie bombing trial, said he believed MH370 diverted off course in a desperate bid to reach safe harbour as the cabin filled with smoke.
“As opposed to being hijackers, the crew were heroically trying to save the airplane, themselves and the passengers when this catastrophe hit,” he told The Telegraph.
Mr Vincent gave expert evidence in the civil trial that followed the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, where families successfully sued Pan Am for $500 million (£300 million) in compensation.
The former air traffic controller said he believed MH370 had suffered a “catastrophic event” that filled the cabin with smoke or noxious fumes shortly after the pilots made final contact with ground control at 1.19am on March 8.
Mr Vincent, who helped design Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s security systems, said smoke could have been caused by an electrical fire, hazardous materials in the cargo hold or a small bomb that failed to destroy the aircraft.
He said he thought a bomb unlikely as no group had taken credit for an attack.
The fire onboard could have knocked out the aircraft’s transponder and the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), he said.
The disabling of the two systems has been used as evidence of foul play but Mr Vincent said shutting down the ACARS deliberately would involve a complicated process, beyond the training of most pilots.
The fire would also have caused both the cabin and cockpit to fill with smoke.
As they realised what was happening the crew turned the aircraft west towards Langkawi, a cluster of Malaysian islands of the country’s west coast. That would explain why the flight left its original path towards Beijing, he said.
The smoke and confusion would also explain why the aircraft climbed to 45,000 feet and then fell erratically back down to 23,000, he said.
“My guess is that in the horrendous conditions that this crew was operating when they were turning that airplane what that cockpit is full of smoke you can’t even see the instruments,” Mr Vincent said.
He said that he put little faith in reports that the aircraft had turned west 12 minutes before the co-pilot wished ground control a final good night, and that such a turn would have been seen by the ground if it was still in contact with the Boeing 777.
Mr Vincent said the Malaysian government had been “too accommodating” under pressure from the media and China and rushed into releasing information that it then had to withdraw.