[Tzfat]

If everything is working, the A320 has visual and aural alarms 60 seconds before hitting terrain. There is no way to miss it. Airbus pilots are trained to respond immediately without verification.

The A320 is capable of climbing at more than 15,000 feet per minute if the crew responds to a terrain warning when traveling at 380 knots. It will water your eyes to see a passenger jet do something like that.

If this aircraft was in one piece when it hit (I am not convinced of that) there is no way the crew was conscious when it hit. This will not be a matter for pilot inattention etc.

[CodeToad]

“there is no way the crew was conscious when it hit. This “

Sure there is: They intended to hit.

[McGruff]

the A320 has visual and aural alarms 60 seconds before hitting terrain. There is no way to miss it

I was wondering that. So the pilots took no action. Either because they were incapacitated or it was deliberate. If deliberate seems like they would have flown the plane into the ground. Which leads to another question.

In the event of a cabin depressurization don't oxygen masks drop down immediately. Wouldn't the pilots have time to put them on? If not who put the plane into the decent mode?

[ken5050]

Thanks for all your incisive and knowledgeable comments since yesterday. Much appreciated. I tend to agree that the indications of a long, 18 minute, controlled descent would negate the idea of a major/catastrophic structural failure at altitude.

But I am curious about one thing. It was reported the plane was 24 years old..had 58,000 flight hours, and 45,000 flights..that's about an average flight of 1 hr 15 minutes...it was basically used for shorts hops...that's 90,000 take-off and landings..I recall when the Aloha Airlines plane came apart in flight..it was the same scenario..it was a puddle jumper..lots of short inter-island hops...which put great stress on the airframe. Does the history/use of this Airbus 320 make some type of systems failure more likely.