[fiftymegaton]

I’ll do the math as I see it. Any cargo or personnel that China wished to steal/abduct from the plane could’ve been stolen/abducted once the plane landed in Beijing as normal. With MUCH less international attention, not to mention it would’ve been MUCH easier to pull off, and it would’ve been MUCH more of a reliable operation once the plane was already on the ground in Beijing.

[RC one]

maybe, maybe not. And then again, maybe someone really really didn't want whatever was on that plane from landing in Beijing. It all kind of comes back to just who or what in the F was on that plane? I also can't discount the possibility that terrorists took it to use it as a weapon later, the pilot was allegedly a radical of some sort, but that still seems like a lot of work and risk just to acquire a plane. Seems like there would be an easier way.