Was MH370 brought down by fire in its cargo of lithium-ion batteries?

[AdamSmith]

This article gives what seems like a well researched argument that Malaysia Airlines MH370 could well have been brought down by uncontrollable fire breaking out in a shipment of lithium-ion batteries in its hold:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/15/the-deadly-cargo-inside-mh370-how-exploding-batteries-explain-the-mystery.html

[MsAnn]

This article gives what seems like a well researched argument that Malaysia Airlines MH370 could well have been brought down by uncontrollable fire breaking out in a shipment of lithium-ion batteries in its hold:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/15/the-deadly-cargo-inside-mh370-how-exploding-batteries-explain-the-mystery.html

Interesting article. In the end I disagree with his analysis, but he presents an interesting scenario nonetheless.

[AdamSmith]

Interesting article. In the end I disagree with his analysis, but he presents an interesting scenario nonetheless.

Curious now -- what smells funny to you about his scenario?

[Guest zipperzone]

Unfortunately we will probably never know the actual cause.

[MsAnn]

Curious now -- what smells funny to you about his scenario?

Assuming there was a fire that was sudden and catastrophic, I don't think that it adequately explains the silence from the plane. No one was able to get a panicked message out? If the pilots changed direction because of some sort of emergency on board, why then not a distress call? Even if toxic smoke had breached the ventilation system, I would think that at least one brief message from someone on board would have gotten out, nor does the article fully explain how the plane could keep flying for seemingly hours. I was also under the impression that it had been fairly well established, that the transponder had been manually turned off. Yes, lots of questions, but I still think that something nefarious went on in the cockpit.

I am convinced that someday, perhaps even years from now, we will find the remains, or enough of the remains of the aircraft to come to some definitive conclusions. This might turn out to be one of aviations greatest mysteries.

Would love to hear RA's thoughts on the article.

[AdamSmith]

Some more debris would be helpful. And yeah, what does RA1 think of this battery-fire idea? Or otherwise?

[RA1]

There are any number of imponderables about this ill fated flight. Some have been mentioned above. Pilots are trained to don oxygen and smoke masks at the slightest hint of a problem. It is difficult to imagine toxic fumes so overpowering that this training would be overcome. Certainly then a distress call would have gone out. Even if contact with Air Traffic Control (ATC) were not available there are always other aircraft on frequency that would have heard such a call.

I am not that familiar with lithium-ion batteries. I read the news and technical reports about them but absent an expert suggesting otherwise, I would tend to rely upon my knowledge of NiCad batteries which also have a thermal runaway problem. They can explode or burn fiercely but only with "unusual" charging. At the moment I do not understand how a battery that is not undergoing a discharge-charge cycle can have a thermal runaway. From where does the excess energy come?

How and why a plane with everyone on board dead or totally incapacitated would turn and go in a very different direction from intended is indeed a puzzle. Like others, I can dream up movie script scenarios to fit various results, but they make little sense.

Best regards,

RA1

[AdamSmith]

Grazie.

[MsAnn]

Ditto.