It seemed the investigation had reached a dead end. Although the pilot remained a suspect, a background check revealed that the likelihood of either the captain or co-pilot committing a suicidal attack was low.
The FBI's findings confirmed that Captain Jerry Vermeer's roommate was just an ordinary college student. He was interested in planes simply because his major was electrical engineering.
The NTSB also retrieved co-pilot Frank Canfos' psychological evaluation from the airline, which confirmed that after stopping his use of fluoxetine, there were no signs of his depression recurring.
Additionally, hospital blood tests showed that the co-pilot wasn't abusing any substances.
With no other leads, everyone turned their attention to Reid and the NTSB representative, Lilo Brooks, hoping their discussion might yield some answers.
Unfortunately, despite being under everyone's hopeful gaze, their discussion showed no signs of wrapping up anytime soon. Since no one else could understand their technical talk, the rest of the team headed to the break room to enjoy the breakfast Jack had brought back.
"I think..." Rossi began, having just finished his last sip of coffee, when Reid and Lilo Brooks suddenly entered the room.
"The black box data has been decrypted!"
As previously mentioned, the data recorded in the black box is divided into two parts: flight data and cockpit voice recordings.
Reid and Lilo Brooks were the only ones who could understand the flight data, so they quickly got to work on interpreting it. Meanwhile, the others gathered in the conference room to listen to the cockpit voice recording.
In theory, the cockpit voice recorder should capture everything that happened inside the cockpit during the two hours before the crash. Of course, no one needed to sit and listen for two whole hours.
The NTSB had extracted the last 20 minutes of conversation before the crash.
It turned out the captain and co-pilot did argue before the crash, but it wasn't about sabotage or one of them trying to seize control of the plane, as some had suspected.
First, the captain noticed that autopilot had been unexpectedly disengaged and questioned the co-pilot about it, who immediately denied having done anything. Shortly afterward, the plane's altitude began to change, and the wing flaps were extended.
After a brief exchange, the two pilots were horrified to realize that they had lost control of the plane. The captain immediately ordered the co-pilot to reboot the entire system, which happened to coincide with the time ACARS was disabled.
"It sounds like something out of a ghost story," Emily said, perplexed.
"They're saying the entire flight control system failed. Is that even possible?"
"I don't know, but that's what it sounds like," Hotchner replied just as Reid and Lilo Brooks entered the room after reviewing the data.
"The sensor data and flight data don't match. This plane was hacked!" Reid announced, dropping a bombshell.
Seeing everyone's shocked expressions, Lilo Brooks elaborated.
"Three minutes before the plane disintegrated, there was a prolonged period of vertical turbulence. The wing flaps were deployed, and the ground spoilers were engaged, but there were no reports of system or mechanical failure. All of this was done manually.
"There's also a record of the flight control system being rebooted, but it was too late. In a matter of minutes, the plane lost over 10,000 feet of altitude, and the pilots couldn't move the control stick."
---
Half an hour later, a military commander from the DHS, the Black female major, entered the conference room, her face filled with shock as she listened to the team's report.
"Okay, let me summarize your findings. According to Dr. Reid and Dr. Brooks' study of the wreckage and plane structure, you've ruled out the possibility of the plane being hit by a missile or an explosion onboard.
"You believe the crash was caused by a rapid nosedive, which overwhelmed the plane's structural integrity with excessive negative G-forces, causing it to break apart mid-air.
"And you've also cleared the captain and co-pilot of suspicion, so the conclusion is that someone bypassed the pilots and took control of the plane?"
"Isn't that a bit far-fetched? You know what kind of repercussions such a theory will have if we report it," Major Reardon said quickly, looking at Hotchner and Rossi, who held the most authority.
Hotchner solemnly responded, "Based on the black box data and our investigation, this is currently the most plausible explanation."
As Reardon turned her gaze toward Lilo Brooks, representing the NTSB, he shrugged and said, "While it may sound exaggerated, I also lean toward this theory."
He stood up and projected several documents from his computer onto the screen.
"These are reports from previous years. In fact, the NTSB has been monitoring this issue for some time."
He opened one of the reports. "Boeing has expressed concerns that the onboard multimedia entertainment systems and USB ports could offer hackers a way to infiltrate the aircraft's controls. In recent years, there have been attempts to do just that.
"As early as April 2013, at a hacker conference in Amsterdam, a German security consultant demonstrated how he could use a smartphone app he developed to control a helicopter's operating system."
Reid pointed to another report and continued.
"Similarly, in 2018, a computer expert from Kaspersky claimed to have attempted to tamper with the flight management system while onboard a 737, and he was successful. He was later arrested by the FBI."
"How do you know the hacker wasn't disguised as a passenger, who infiltrated the system and crashed the plane with themselves onboard?" Major Reardon asked quickly.
"Because we haven't received any statements from organizations or individuals claiming responsibility for the crash. For a successful suicide attack, that's highly unusual," Hotchner explained.
"We're not dealing with a terrorist; we're dealing with a serial killer. Their goal is to create mass casualties, so we need to recommend to the White House to immediately ground all domestic flights."
Major Reardon nodded grimly, seemingly convinced.
"Leave it to me, but you all know what grounding flights means, so act quickly."
After she left the conference room, Hotchner immediately called JJ, who was still at the hospital. He asked her to hand over surveillance of the co-pilot to other FBI agents and rush back to the command center. Her media handling skills were now urgently needed.
"We need to steer the media narrative toward equipment malfunction, hoping the suspect will expose themselves, although this carries significant risk."
JJ, who arrived shortly after, nodded in understanding and provided a new piece of information: "Frank Canfos and his wife received death threats."
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