I'm curious, is the possibility that the passengers are still alive being discussed by any major news outlet? I have read tons of coverage but the authors implicitly state the passengers are lost.
The only circumstances in which they would be alive would be if it was a hijacking, the plane landed relatively safely, and they were being held hostage & incommunicado somewhere. It does seem the unlikeliest of possibilities at this point.
However, nothing, so far, indicates that the plane has crashed. If the plane has actually managed, ON PURPOSE, to avoid radar detection, it could have as well landed in secret somewhere else.
True, but the only theories under which this would be a logical course of action are fucking stupid. Someone did this to steal a 777 to use in a 9/11-style attack? There are lots of ways to get a 777 that would be WAY easier, such as: leasing one.