The problem with that is that there is not one iota of evidence that there was any kind of problem. Second in such an event their oxygen masks drop. Third they push one button the cabin pressure increases forcing all the smoke out. Fourth they push another button and the computer takes them right back to the airfield they just left.
So they program the autopilot to take them to the nearest emergency airfield
So then why didn't they go to those airfields?? They went right by two airfields when they turned around without as much as a wink. If that plane had been programmed for those airfields they would have been there -- smoke or no smoke.
The pilot Rush had on said the protocol in case of fire was to land ASAP within 10 minutes. At 20 minutes the plane is consumed.
Does the autopilot take you to a certain point, or does it just send you down a certain heading? I am not familiar with airliners, but in small aircraft, you just pick a heading, and the autopilot flies along that line, until it gets another instruction.