Hmmm... Is Somalia hijacking planes now?

[cthulu2016]

Not seriously, but looking at the possibility (only a possibility, but being discussed now) of the Malaysian plane having turned up past the Starit of Malacca and out into the Indian ocean, and assuming that only hijacking or pilot derangement would cause that extreme a piloted deviation from plan... hijacking for what? For where? For why?

If the oil-rig report proves sound then that would be roughly in line with the original flight path, but if not the range of possible locations is getting wider, rather than narrower.

Once you get west of Indonesia into the broad expanse of the Indian ocean all sorts of things become possible. A 9/11-style plane crash in a coastal Indian city? Maybe Mumbai or something.

Or Pakistan. Or the Arabian peninsula—is that what it's called? The big hunk of land with Saudi Arabia in it. (But not enough fuel for most of Saudi Arabia itself, or for Israel.)

Or the east coast of Africa.

Who knows?

If pilot suicide, maybe one is supposed to be pointing toward Mecca.

One of those mysteries that gets denser with time.

If the plane was hijacked there is no reason to expect it to even make sense. Who knows what a hijacker might think the plane could reach or do?

[brooklynite]

1. Look at the range from KL to Beijing...

...the plane might have made it to most Indian cities, Thailand, Myanmar, maybe Nepal. I think Karachi or points further west would be out of fuel range.

[cthulu2016]

3. On TV they were showing a rough radius that

made it all the way to the edge of Arabia and east Africa, but I don't know how exact they are. They say there was about seven hours of fuel, but from what point?

The per-hijack trip and turning back around would consume fuel, so I doubt the real radius is as large as they were showing.

[Blue_Tires]

7. One more time...

The 777 flying fast and at low alitude below radar would have run out of fuel before getting halfway to India...

[Lint Head]

2. If it was hijacked or blown up why is no one taking credit?

Lone hijacker?

[rdharma]

5. Exactly!

A terrorist action isn't worth squat if the terrorist organization doesn't take credit for the attack.

[cthulu2016]

6. Dunno. All explanations would be odd.

If the plane really did turn around and then head off northwest for 100s of miles, rather than southwest, then something very odd happened.

I don't have a theory, really.

[JI7]

8. maybe they were testing it out if it would work

and if it did they would use it for those htey really intend to target.

[elfin]

4. Unless and until they find the wreckage

This and even stranger stories will abound.

If they don't have an answer Boeing 777s are screwn.

I'm going with pilot suicide now or possibly a hijacking gone terribly terribly wrong.

[longship]

9. Or maybe mechanical failure. nt

[GeorgeGist]

10. Maybe a UA93 scenario ...

over water.

[TwilightGardener]

11. Intentional pilot diversion, or armed hijacking. Either a pilot shut off the transponder

to avoid detection so he could take the plane somewhere else, or a hijacker did it or forced them to do it. Pilot suicide could have easily been done on the flight path--no need to have changed course and shut off the transponder for that, so I doubt that theory. But remember there was a plane from Ethiopia to Rome that diverted to Switzerland a few weeks ago--copilot wanted asylum. I doubt the plane had intrinsic mechanical issues, either some sort of foul play/passenger action/military action interfered with the hijacking or it ran out of fuel and couldn't land.