[matt04]

Good point. Either shot down or terrorism seen to be the most likely. It it not often planes break apart over the ocean on their own

[Red in Blue PA]

.....with all electronic communication going out at once. That is the key point that leads me to believe it is terrorism.

[MD Expat in PA]

Good point. Either shot down or terrorism seen to be the most likely. It it not often planes break apart over the ocean on their own

While most airline crashes happen during or shortly after takeoff or during a landing or because of bad weather, it is not impossible or out of the question to suffer a sudden and catastrophic failure of some kind at altitude and or combined with pilot error (see Air France Flight 447).

http://www.airfrance447.com/

Aside from a sudden failure of the electrical systems, I’m also thinking of some sort of a rapid depressurization due to a failure of the integrity of the plane, i.e. metal fatigue.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOAC_Flight_781

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloha_Airlines_Flight_243

While it is way too early to rule out any cause including terrorism, I’m not about to jump on “a plane crashed ; it must be an act of terrorism” bandwagon.