appears the fly-by-wire bullshit is located on the right side below the flight deck in very close proximity to the O2. After reading the ACARS it definitely could be that an electrical fire ignited the O2, hard to fathom but if the O2 is leaky it can happen. That would be one big boom, which would explain the ACARS messages about the window. Something definitely went boom.

If there was a fire in the avionics, how and why were the crew unable to remove power from the affected system. How did it accelerate so quickly? According to the ACARS this all happened is a span of 2 minutes. I have dealt with onboard fires, I have personally never seen one move from the affected equipment and hit the O2 but that does not mean it could not happen if the O2 had a fault. But then a sensor on the O2 would also have to be at fault and probably a few others, otherwise that would have sent an ACARS message first.

And to answer you question, yes a fire in the radio racks could disrupt comm and since airbuses are fly-by-wire, yes both system can go and you will have absolutely zero control of the aircraft. But a fire would also produce smoke, and the smell of avionics equipment melting is in no way hard to notice so I question what the crew did to stop the fire. As for the ACARS, I have no idea off the top of my head where that is located. I would have assumed, probably incorrectly, that it would located with the comm/nav/sat rack near where all the messages about problems originated.

And yes, The plane was banking outside of parameters. I believe 35 degrees should be the max. Now in these new fangled Fly-by-wire models, you lose electronics and you are dead in the air. Those banks came from having absolutely zero control during whatever transpired or it was tumbling and not banking at all. Fucking flybywire making me incorrect.

If the O2 did indeed leak and a fire started in the NAV rack it most definitely could be the cause. I just would hate to think that many systems failed for this perfect storm but even I must admit it is possible. What a shitty way to go.

[Post edited by hoothat at 05/20/2016 8:09PM]