[Uncle Chip]

And just why would Pakistan or Iran need a Boeing 777 from Malaysia, a hot one nonetheless, when they have so many other Boeings in their fleets that can be commandeered so much more readily.

Can the general explain that???

[PIF]

I have no idea what the General would say, however, it is possible that someone needed the 777 for its communications gear.

Why? Well, if you could hack or make a bug that could infect the gear, then someone could take over or take down any 777 at any time.

Remember, Iran claims to have taken down a RQ-170 Sentinel and the Russians took down an older drone (IAI RQ-5 Hunter) by taking over the comm gear.

Then, there was the shipment of lithium batteries in the cargo hold - might be that taking the plane was the only way to get a large quantity of them at one time for some unknown reason - worth noting that once a lithium batter catches fire, it cannot be put out.