I wonder how long people mused over this one. There’s never been a trace found ...
On 25 May 2003 a Boeing 727-223, registered N844AA, was stolen from Quatro de Fevereiro Airport, Luanda, Angola.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Boeing_727-223_disappearance
I don’t think many people worry about that plane... it was clearly a theft and/or suicide run. Or worse, a insurance fraud attempt that went wrong. I read yesterday, that a relative was actually on FR at the time trying to get input/help. But that incident didn’t engender the same curiosity as MH370.
MH370 was a fully staffed, legitimate flight with 239 people on board. Big difference... not only that, but the 777 also has a big lift capability or long distance flight capability. Makes it covetable if someone wants to use it for nefarious purposes, and a tradgedy if it is a accident with all on board.
And worse, this is 2014. Even if all the data systems on the plane were disabled, how did all these militaries miss the plane? The “System” as it were, totally failed across the board. We can’t rely on the object being looked for to be operational, at all. We *should* expect all ground & space tracking systems that should not be dependent on a data link with the craft to be able to still track the craft.
In the end, I think the plane malfunctioned, crew died, plane flew on till it ran out of fuel. USA, India, and perhaps China know where it is, but can’t say without showing their technology hand.