[Izzy Dunne]

Could the terrorist have donned gas masks and released some agent to kill the passengers?

The plane was "confirmed" (whatever that means) as ascending to 45000 feet for a time.

If the hijackers 1) sealed the cabin door, 2) ascended to 45000 feet, and 3) vented the passenger compartment, then all passengers are dead in a couple of minutes.

[Black Agnes]

Now it’s possibly 7 hours.

This is the ‘cat stuck on the roof’ information leak method.

[KevinB]

If the hijackers 1) sealed the cabin door, 2) ascended to 45000 feet, and 3) vented the passenger compartment, then all passengers are dead in a couple of minutes.

But don't the oxygen masks come down automatically in the case of loss of cabin pressure? Can the crew disable that as well?

[crazycatlady]

I’m leaning toward the deliberate loss of cabin pressure theory myself. Still doesn’t explain where the plane is.

The passengers with fake passports were false leads, I think. The pilot with the flight simulator in his house is the one to look at , evidently. If there’s one thing we have learned about these type of terrorists it’s that sometimes they just want to commit mindless random murder and destruction. The net gain is not something like an airplane, but scaring people. That’s why they’re called TERRORists.