Chapter 358 The Invaded Passenger Plane
The case seems to have reached a dead end. Although the suspicion of the pilot cannot be completely ruled out, judging from the background investigation, whether it is the captain or the co-pilot, there is no suicidal person. The likelihood of an attack is low.
The FBI's investigation results confirmed that Captain Jerry Wehrmeyer's roommate was just an ordinary college student. He was interested in airplanes simply because his major was electrical engineering.
The NTSB also obtained the psychological evaluation form of co-pilot Frank Canforth from the airline, confirming that he showed no signs of recurrence of depression after he stopped taking fluoxetine.
The hospital's blood test results also showed that the first officer did not have any drug abuse problems.
Everyone could only turn their attention to Red, who had just finished drinking coffee, and Lilo Box from the NTSB next to him, hoping that their discussion would come to some conclusions.
Unfortunately, even though everyone was staring at them eagerly, their discussion had no sign of ending yet. Since no one could understand their discussion, everyone could only go to the lounge first and finish eating Jack Brought back breakfast.
"I think" Just when Rosie took the last sip of coffee and was about to say something, Rhett and Lillo Box, who had been having a heated discussion just now, pushed in the door.
“The black box data cracking is completed!”
As mentioned before, the data recorded in the black box is divided into two parts, flight data and cockpit recording.
Only two people present, Rhett and Leo Box, could understand the flight data. They quickly got involved in interpreting the data, while others gathered in the conference room and listened to the cockpit recording.
Theoretically, the cockpit recording should record all the sounds that occurred in the cockpit within at least two hours before the plane crash. Of course, in fact, everyone does not really need to sit there and listen for 2 hours.
NTSB intercepted all conversations in the cockpit 20 minutes before the crash.
The captain and co-pilot did have an argument before the crash, but it was not as everyone initially speculated. One of them wanted to cause sabotage or compete for control of the aircraft.
First, the captain discovered that the autopilot had been accidentally turned off and questioned the co-pilot, but the co-pilot then denied it. Then the altitude of the aircraft changed, and then the slats on the wings were opened.
After a brief dispute, the two suddenly discovered that they had lost control of the aircraft. The captain immediately ordered the first officer to restart the entire system. This time coincided with the shutdown of ACARS.
"It sounds like it's haunted." Emily was very confused.
"According to what they said, the entire flight control system collapsed. Is this possible?"
"I don't know, but it sounds like this." Hotchner's voice Before they left, Rhett and Lillo Box, who had just been interpreting data next door, opened the door and walked in.
"The sensor data and flight data do not match. This aircraft has been invaded!" Red said unsurprisingly and kept dying.
Seeing everyone's shock, Lilo Box added.
“Three minutes before the aircraft disintegrated, there was indeed a long longitudinal turbulence. Not only were the slats opened, but the ground speed brakes were also opened. However, there was no systematic report of any system or mechanical failure. All of this It was all man-made.
There was a record of the control system being restarted, but it was too late. The plane fell to an altitude of more than 10,000 feet in just a few minutes, and the pilot could not pull the control lever at all. ”
——
Half an hour later, the military commander from DHS, the black female major, appeared in the conference room and listened to everyone’s reports with a shocked face.
"OK, let me summarize what you said. According to Dr. Reed and Dr. Box's study of the wreckage and aircraft structure, we rule out the possibility that the aircraft was hit by a missile or that there were explosives in the cabin.
You believe that the cause of the plane crash was a rapid dive caused by human control. The fuselage of the passenger plane could not bear the huge negative G force and disintegrated on its own before the crash. You also ruled out the suspicion of the captain and co-pilot, so you came to the conclusion. Yes, someone bypassed the two pilots and took control of the plane?"
"Is this conclusion a bit exaggerated? Do you know what will happen once this speculation is reported? The consequences, right?”
After the black female major known as Rearden finished speaking, she looked at Hotchner and Rosie, who had the most say.
Hotchner said solemnly, "Based on the data in the black box and combined with our investigation, this is the most reasonable explanation at present."
Seeing Major Reardon's eyes looking at him, Li, who represents the NTSB here, Lo Box shrugged, "Although it sounds a bit exaggerated, I am also inclined to this possibility."
As he spoke, he stood up and projected several documents from his computer onto the screen.
“These are some reports from previous years. In fact, the NTSB has been paying attention to this news.”
He opened one of the documents, “Boeing has expressed concerns about in-flight multimedia Entertainment devices and USB interfaces provide hackers with access, and there have been attempts to do so in the past few years
As early as April 2013, at a hacker conference in Amsterdam, a security consultant from Germany demonstrated how to use a smartphone application he developed to control the operating system of a helicopter. "
Reed pointed to another piece of information and continued.
"Coincidentally, in 2018, a computer expert from Kaspersky claimed that he was flying on a 737 passenger plane. After trying to tamper with the flight management system and succeeding, he was arrested by the FBI. "
"How can we be sure that the operator did not disguise himself as a passenger, invade the cabin, and eventually die with the plane? "
Major Reardon asked quickly.
"Because we have not received any statement from any organization or individual claiming responsibility for this crash, this is unreasonable for a successful suicide attack."
Hochner explained, " What we are looking for is not a terrorist, but a serial killer whose goal is to cause mass murder, so we need to recommend to the White House that all domestic flights be banned immediately.”
Rearden. The major nodded heavily, looking convinced.
"Leave this to me, but you know better than me what the grounding means, so please hurry up."
After she left the conference room, Hotchner immediately picked up the phone and called He picked up Jiejie, who was still in the hospital, and asked her to hand over the task of monitoring and protecting the co-pilot to other FBI agents, and rushed to the command center immediately. Now she needed to use her expertise in dealing with the media.
"We need to guide media public opinion towards the possibility of equipment failure and allow the suspect to reveal his existence, although this is very risky."
Jiejie, who hurriedly arrived, nodded to express her understanding, and then provided a new message The clue, "Frank Canforth and his wife received death threats."
Sorry, something happened unexpectedly today, and this chapter has been posted.
(End of this chapter)