# passed out in the cockpit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 14, 2014, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passed-out-in-the-cockpit/683691 "2014-03-14T14:17:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passed-out-in-the-cockpit/683691/21 "2014-03-18T06:32:51Z")
Range is greatly increased if all you need to penetrate is air. 5 watts won’t go far through earth - but from a plane, a cloud (water) is the biggest obstacle. If I have an ATC-type comm and you have your 5 watt rig, guess who has the stronger signal? ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passed-out-in-the-cockpit/683691/22 "2014-03-18T13:53:10Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Range is greatly increased if all you need to penetrate is air. 5 watts won’t go far through earth - but from a plane, a cloud (water) is the biggest obstacle. > > If I have an ATC-type comm and you have your 5 watt rig, guess who has the stronger signal? That 5 mile range is more or less the best case scenario when transmitting “line of sight.” Using it from an airplane is still line of sight. [Here](http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=39154) are some pilots discussing handhelds and they say about 4-5 miles is the range they get with them. I actually assumed they’d get maybe 6-7 from up in the air, but I guess not. Yes, the ATC will have a powerful radio that you can receive from much farther away. What good does that do? I’m not understanding the goal here. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passed-out-in-the-cockpit/683691/23 "2014-03-19T05:29:13Z")
My point was that, in a battle for signal strength, the handheld loses - not much risk of jamming, as suggested as a reason against having them aboard. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passed-out-in-the-cockpit/683691/24 "2014-03-19T06:45:44Z")
Chris Goodfellow at Wired has a [startlingly simple theory](http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/03/mh370-electrical-fire/) for why the jet went missing. I tend to think he may be on to something. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passed-out-in-the-cockpit/683691/25 "2014-03-19T08:10:01Z")
> [@lawoot](#): > > Chris Goodfellow at Wired has a [startlingly simple theory](http://www.wired.com/autopia/2014/03/mh370-electrical-fire/) for why the jet went missing. I tend to think he may be on to something. It’s not consistent with the tracking after the westerly turn. The aircraft did further turns that are not consistent with an emergency track to an airport. Note I’m not saying it’s necessarily wrong, but raises as many questions as it answers so I don’t think it’s the best fit for the information we’ve been given. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passed-out-in-the-cockpit/683691/26 "2014-03-19T18:26:18Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > It’s not consistent with the tracking after the westerly turn. The aircraft did further turns that are not consistent with an emergency track to an airport. > > Note I’m not saying it’s necessarily wrong, but raises as many questions as it answers so I don’t think it’s the best fit for the information we’ve been given. Well, they could be indicative of a fly-by-wire aircraft slowly losing control due to an electrical fire. Either way I think it’s about the most sensible theory I’ve heard so far. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passed-out-in-the-cockpit/683691/27 "2014-03-19T19:38:54Z")
It is difficult to imagine how an airplane which is on fire badly enough to lose electrical systems could then go on flying for 7 hours. Typically when a fire onboard has reached that point you have maybe 15 minutes until the airplane is no longer capable of flying. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/passed-out-in-the-cockpit/683691.md?page=1)