bilby
Fair dinkum thinkum
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So, what caused the plane to break up in the air.Correct.
It is a pressurised fuselage travelling at .82 of the speed of sound.
Pan Am 103 broke up after less than 1kg of explosive made a tear in the fuselage under those circumstances. 50kg detonating in close proximity isn't survivable for the airframe.
The debris is riddled with holes, and their distribution suggests an explosion above and slightly ahead of the aircraft - consistent with the terminal approach phase of a BUK.
Despite the grossly ignorant comments here and elsewhere, it is almost impossible for a 777 hit in this way to not break into at least two major pieces; the larger rear portion will likely remain intact for a minute or two, but the area forward of the wing is likely to have been torn apart by a combination of shrapnel, pressurisation failure and slipstream effects within a few seconds.
The damage to the pilots seats indicates that both pilots almost certainly died instantly from shrapnel impacts.
The passengers in the rear may have lived for two or three minutes, but would not have remained conscious for more than about 30 seconds - just enough time for one or two to put in their oxygen masks, which would have deployed as soon as the pressure containment was breached.