The plane was hijacked with the intent of flying west to Pakistan, Sri Lanka, wherever.
The plane couldn't have been on autopilot because it changed altitude and direction.
Because it dropped from 35k+ feet to below civilian radar it used much more fuel.
The hijackers, clever as they were, didn't figure that into what they were doing so the plane ran out of fuel and crashed before it reached the hijacker;s destination.
See my post a couple a minutes after yours. Brilliant minds ...
I can buy into that theory...
“My theory du jur...”
I like your theory. A few years back I was on a BA 747 from LAX to Heathrow and about 20 minutes after take-off a problem developed in the #3 engine. The engine was shut down, the plane dropped altitude to 24,000 ft, and turned toward JFK. The reduced altitude was to burn off excess fuel so as to minimize fuel load when landing.
Your theory makes more sense out of what we know at this point than any other I have seen expressed. So, did the hi-jackers want the plane, or was there a VIP passenger on board that they wanted...maybe for ransom or for some sort of a ‘prisoner’ exchange...
Burj Khalifa?