The Noxious Gas Theory

by Liberator37

Chris Goodfellow's theory was outstanding, but fell foul of a few facts he could not have known when writing. This is an attempt to improve on it in the light of those facts. It depends on one fact not yet in evidence, but is offered as a contribution to solving the extraordinary mystery of the missing MH 370 flight, and in hopes of bringing a little comfort to those bereaved.

Facts to Explain

Today (March 26th 2014) these are the facts for which any theory must account:

• Flight MH 370 turned West at about 1:20 am on March 9th, directly after leaving Malaysian air space
• Its transponder was turned off
• No further radio or phone communication from anyone aboard was heard
• It made two erratic turns over the Malacca Straits
• It then turned South at about 2:40 am and is presumed crashed off the West of Australia.

The Primary Event

After a normal farewell at 1:17 am but before any "Good Morning Vietnam" was broadcast upon entering Vietnamese air space, something took place which led to the disappearance of MH 370. We have to deduce what it probably was. There are only three possibilities:

1. A hijacker entered the cockpit and took control of the flight
2. One or both of the pilots began to commit murder-suicide, or
3. They were overcome by poisonous gas or smoke

I believe there was no hijacker. Reasons:

• 777 pilots have a secret signalling device to use in a hijack; it was not used
• To gain entry, the malefactors would have had to use violence to obtain a key code from one of the stewards, so alerting several passengers; yet none of them used a cell phone, then or subsequently, to report anything wrong.
• Nobody subsequently "took responsibility" or made any ransom demand

I also believe there was no pilot malfeasance. Reasons:

• No evidence has yet surfaced of any psychological problem with either the Captain or co-pilot
• None has emerged of any murderous intent on the Captain's flight simulator
• Unlike the case of Egyptair 990, there was no immediate action to crash the plane; if it was to be done, why not do it at once?
• The action that was taken suggests an attempt to solve the problem, not to make one

That leaves the third possibility: that the pilots were suddenly overcome by poisonous smoke or gas, coincidentally directly after they left Malaysian air space.

Smoke was the suggestion of Mr Goodfellow, and he speculated that a soft tire on the nosewheel might have smoldered after takeoff. Others have suggested there was a cargo of Lithium-ion batteries which somehow caught fire. However the Boeing 777 has several alarms that would have revealed that in advance; if a tire pressure or temperature was incorrect, the pilots would have been made aware of it at the end of the takeoff run at the latest. Additionally there are smoke detectors and automatic extinguishers in the cargo hold, which would have given them ample warning; none was detected, as we know from the very short time that elapsed between the sign-off and the westward turn.

Therefore, they were suddenly incapacitated by some kind of poisonous gas.

It was invisible, hence not spotted by the smoke detectors. It was fast-acting, for the pilots had time only to turn some switches and change course, before becoming unable even to broadcast a "mayday" signal. It had the same effect on everyone else on board, because for the next hour or more, MH 370 was flying back over the Malay peninsula, for most of which journey cell phones could have been used by any passenger still awake.

The Westward course set would take the 777 directly to Langkawi airport on the West coast of Malaysia, the nearest with a long runway, as Mr Goodfellow suggested. This gives another reason to discount smoke, for standard practice upon detecting a fire aboard is for the pilot to assume he has only 15 minutes to live; he must therefore bring his craft to the surface immediately, at the nearest landing place, even if he bends it. Instead, they chose one over an hour away. Indeed, one report said the turn was not 90^° left, but 270^° right, as if their first intention was to turn around and head back to Kuala Lumpur. But they settled on Langkawi, and then felt themselves losing conciousness so engaged the autopilot.

Why did they switch off the transponder? - I don't know. This theory suggests no reason for it. Perhaps, in the panic of discovering themselves no longer in full control of their senses, one of them tried to operate a different switch, and got confused.

The Secondary Turns

Soon after 2:30 am, now off the West coast of Malaysia, MH 370 made two or three erratic turns and finished up heading South, over the ocean after passing the Andaman Islands. At first it was thought to have turned on a final Westerly course, taking it towards India, but signals from the Rolls Royce engines later indicated that it continued South until fuel was exhausted.

Why those strange turns? - I suggest that the pilot(s) were able briefly to overcome the effects of whatever drug had knocked them out, and began to try to line MH 370 up for a landing at Langkawi. However, they were still too drowsy to make it. A couple more vague turns exhausted them, so after engaging the autopilot they fell unconscious again, never to reawaken.

About the Gas

So what was this noxious gas, and how did it get aboard? - to the second question there, only two answers can apply. Either it was part of the normal cargo which accidentally leaked into the circulating air, or else it was placed deliberately as an act of sabotage.

Nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide come to mind as candidates for what kind of gas it was, and if they were part of the normal cargo they will have shown up in the manifest. Neither the airline nor the Malaysian government has mentioned such an item, but that doesn't mean it wasn't there; they have both been curiously reluctant, in the past couple of weeks, to come forward with useful information.

If the gas was not just hazardous but downright lethal - a nerve gas like Sarin, perhaps - I presume it would not have been accepted as cargo and must therefore have been placed aboard by a saboteur. That would be a person not eager to commit suicide as well as mass murder, and hence probably not a run of the mill Muslim fanaticist; more likely a psychopath with a massive grudge against Chinese (or indeed, any) people, or perhaps a political assassin, eager to bring disgrace and embarrassment to the Malaysian government. If so, he certainly succeeded.

However, to obtain something like Sarin and smuggle it aboard would need a resourceful group, and no such group has claimed "credit" for the murders. Like the hijacking hypothesis above, it doesn't therefore seem probable. This was pointed out by "Series_of_Tubes" - to whom, thanks.

After the first body is recovered from the crash site, an autopsy may well reveal what gas was involved.

Summary

This Noxious Gas Theory accounts for all the known facts: the very short interval between a very normal "All right, good night" and the Primary Event; the radio silence; the turn towards Langkawi rather than a closer landing place; the absence of cell-phone calls; the strange turns made near the Andamans; and the final, long flight Southwards to the presumed crash site.

It does not expressly explain why the transponder was turned off, but that action is consistent with the sudden disorientation the pilots would experience while being overcome by an invisible but disabling gas.

Remarks about Peace, Prosperity and Justice