Alternative Flight 370 explanation: the pilot was a hero trying to save a crippled plane

In response to Jihadi Pilot At Center of Missing Plane Mystery?:

I’m right alongside you and the rest of the world trying to figure this thing out, Javier, and I’ve heard stories at various levels of confidence about peculiar details in the background of pilot and/or copilot.  We’re all still a bit stunned at the idea that a plane could just disappear, but as more details about the area emerge – spotty civilian radar coverage, military systems that don’t run all the time out of budgetary concerns – it seems less incredible.  We’ve also got to factor in the confused performance of the Maylaysian government, which makes the whole situation seem even more bizarre and inexplicable by sitting on key information, or putting out conflicting stories.

As bad as the case looks for terrorism right now, there’s also a very cogent blog post from an experienced pilot named Chris Goodfellow that lays out a plausible alternative scenario: essentially, the plane experienced a severe electrical fire or malfunction that caused its electronics to go dark, possibly prompting a series of quick emergency measures that knocked out all the communications systems.  The weird turn and loss of altitude we’ve heard about might be consistent with a desperate bid to land at the nearest safe airport. 

You can read the whole thing here.  I can make no claim to the sort of aviation experience that would confirm or disprove Goodfellow’s theory, but it seems well thought-out to me, given the puzzle pieces currently laid out before us.