Originally Posted by Qtx

There could be plenty of motives for wanting a Boeing 777, so there doesn't have to be a political reason for a hijacking. As well as having a potential flying bomb, I guess it's a lot cheaper to steal a 777 than it is to buy one. Not sure if it's feasible to wipe identifying marks and similar signals (like the engine transmit) and then have it re-furbished as a private liner, like what the basketball stars, some arabs etc have. Or it could be used for expensive parts.

If someone wanted to make a big political fuss out of a hijacking, they would have done it by now. So even if it was hijacked you would have to consider the passengers dead/executed.

Until we get information that says otherwise. we have to assume it's at the bottom of the sea and guess at how it got there. Hijacking that went wrong, military shot it down, pilot suicide or something that lead to loss of oxygen causing the pilots to pass out after they set an autopilot, we just don't know. The obvious most plausible theory isn't always the correct one.