[Mr. Jeeves]

..but the MAF would know where they shot it down.

And have a good reason to keep it quiet while governments worked on a cover story. The world's airlines would have a screaming fit if it ever got out that governments were willing to shoot down any hijacked flight that acted suspicious - the entire industry would be bankrupt in short order. The corporatist crony governments involved need to work up a TWA 800-like cover story, before any facts come out.

[RayChuang88]

One scary possiibility is some terrorist group was able to jury rig a launch system for the Soviet-era 3M33 (SA-8 Gecko) surface-to-air missile, including the guidance radar system. Unlike a MANPAD missile, the 3M33 missile can hit a target up to 39,000 feet in height by radar guidance--well within the flight envelope of the 777-200ER at cruising altitude.

Indeed, one wonders was TWA Flight 800 shot down with such a jury-rigged missile launch system?