“Must have been one of those lighting strikes that blows up airliners..”
What motive for a bomb?
There’s no point in a terrorist blowing up a plane and not taking credit for it.
Kill someone for the insurance money? Maybe. But why take all those innocent people?
Wonder what they know about the bomb threat?
You assume they didn't take credit for it.
The purpose of terrorism is to control behavior of the target through the use of violence or threat of violence.
What if the French government was quietly told "You just lost a plane. You may be able to keep this quiet. If you do not comply with our demands, you will lose a bunch more planes in a more dramatic manner".