It would be terrible to think that at 1 AM some pilot could just turn off the transponder and whatever else.... and then just fly the plane to any terrorist haven that he chose to.... and no one would have a clue where it went. You know?
Unfortunately it is true that the pilot can turn off everything that isn’t directly powered by the engine.
Everything that has a circuit breaker can be unpluged right behind the pilot’s head. It’s a fire control issue.
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