Hello Morgan. The article you just referenced is old info. It states that the crew made no reference to the ACARS during their transmission to the ground before they disabled the ATC (air traffic control) transponders and stopped talking on the comm system. The ATC transponders and the voice com systems are completely separate system from the ACARS, AHM, and Iridium transponder.
Thanks Robert. I am reading and learning as it becomes available but I’m no expert nor do I want to be. To be honest, your comments and many of the responses have been fantastic for information, and proving once again how poorly Old Media is and has been for reporting news.