“To think he would have had a sudden onset of passion about something outside of the world of commercial aviation would seem far-fetched to me.”
Agreed...
Sudden Jihad Syndrome from someone living out his dream, and enjoting it, is pretty far-fetched.
Now, the co-pilot, on the other hand....
I still think it is terrorism, but not from this crew.
I fly several times a year, for work.
I can’t imagine the fear of the crew and folks who were not in on it (if terrorism is what this was). Flying in the dead of night, has a certain serenity to it. I couldn’t imagine some whack-job disturbing that for his/her/its own nefarious purpose.
I can get a peek of my own fear if I really concentrate, and it’s not a pleasant thought. I hope I never run into the baddies in the sky, whether the baddie be crew or supposed passenger.
I’d feel better if I could carry in-flight. My SIG won’t fix a blown engine, but a gun will fix a head case, in a real hurry, either by presentation or application of it. On the flip side, as small as plane seats are nowadays, imagining coexisting in my coach seat with my SIG has a certain physical unpleasantness about it as well... I can see & feel the marks in my fat now!