"Why would the Captain NOT radio “Smoke in the cabin”?" Exactly. Unless the communications were knocked out, I believe this radio call would be made. It would take 2 seconds. Also, we can't ignore the fact that the pilot was a huge supporter of the main opposition leader who had been sentenced to 15 years. He had an ax to grind with the Malaysian government, the same government that owns Malaysian Airlines. Here he is wearing a t-shirt saying "Democracy is Dead".
pilot was a huge supporter of the main opposition leader who had been sentenced to 15 years. But, if he was staging a protest over this, a vital part would have been to let that be known in no uncertain terms. Suicidal, murderous fanatics are known to take advantage of the attention their rampages allow in order to get their grievances aired. This guy did not do that.
