[varyouga]

A strip of about 4000ft would be needed. Give or take for load and elevation.

With some gps coordinates and skill you can program the flight computer to auto land on the strip.

In theory it could have been hijacked/hacked electronically and flown fully automatically to its destination. With all communications/inputs on the plane disabled and everyone going for the ride.

[berdie]

So there would have had to be electronics activated on the plane?

Could that not have been tracked or are the tracking devices separate? I know that the normal ones were disconnected but it seems like an auto pilot could be tracked.

[Yosemitest]

On the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the Boeing 777; (I've got over 26 years in USAF Air Traffic Control and 5 years with the FAA) , the ELTs never went off.
I'm of the frame of mind the the plane landed safely at a bare base under Muslim Brotherhood control.

If I were in control of the search, I'd look for the minimum distance that the Boeing 777 could land on at minimum fuel, and maybe even runways/landing strips with a distance of 500 feet less than minimum weight landing distance, and larger within the wider search range of 2,500 miles.

Landing Distance: (777-200) 5,600 ft (1,705 m)
(777-300) 6,100 ft (1,860 m)

So I'd look for runways and landing strips 5,000 ft and larger that are in Muslim Brotherhood areas and I'd start in the ...

Philippines, or any other areas within that 2,500 mile radius under Muslim Brotherhood control.

Rush, the "Shoot Down" theory would have activated the (ELT) Emergency Locator Transmitter, and, unless within the first 5 mins of the hour Zulu time, would have been noticed.
Even within the first 5 minutes, satellites would have pinpointed a lat/long location after the 3rd sweep of the ELT.

We don't have the ELT location from the satellite system, so I don't believe it crashed or ditched into the water.
If it was blown up, the ELTs would have been activated and on battery power, they would have "transmitted pings" all the way down to the ground or if into the water all the way down through the water to the bottom.
They would transmit until the batteries run down, normally three days to a week. ELTs have survived many crashes and explosions, because they are designed to do just that.

My first thought of where to look would be any abandoned air strip left by any military in the Phillipeans.
Think of something like this.
An abandoned airfield from World War II.

My second thought is :

From the news from Fox about the updates and "Handshakes" from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, based on the chart graphics showing their "handshakes" suggesting it departing northwest ontowards Iran.
Jet Route P628 Northwest to (http://skyvector.com/ on World Hi Chart) Port Blair (VOPB) Navaid
then W111 (272) and P628 (272) northwest to VATLA Way Point via P628 (173) to URKOK Way Point
to KAGUL to LARK to DORL (India) via JABALPUR Navaid
to RAHIM YAR KHAN Navaid

Now a more educated guessing

At RAHIM YAR KHAN navaid they probably changed airways and took a different jet route
G452 to ZAHEDAN to KERMAN Iran.

The "handshakes" probably stopped due to poor coverage or landing at a desert location to refuel.