[Capt. Tom]

My theory de jure is pilot anti-government political protest/government embarrassment, marriage relationship anger, and then suicide.

And to spruce up your theory de jur, we could throw in a struggle in the cockpit with the co- pilot who wasn't ready to die. That's why the plane was all over the place. - tom

[gandalftb]

My bad, I meant theory du jour :):).

I agree, there was possibly a fight in the cockpit. I believe the reason for the ascent to 40,000 feet + was to kill the passengers and crew and possibly the co-pilot stepping out of the cockpit.

The pilot can dump the cabin pressure but the limit switches stop the dump at an effective elevation of 14,000 feet. There would be a leakage of about 1,000 - 1,500 feet per minute rendering everyone unconscious in about 6 minutes, dead in 10-15 minutes.