Based on the knowledge demonstrated by the hijackers, I'd say #3 seems fairly likely, with #1 being the failure mode, but it doesn't seem like a standard hijacking. #2 doesn't seem to account for the maintenance info, and if the pilot wanted to kill themselves, why would they turn off the transponders before they did?
One thing that sort of caught my attention, if you presume that they wanted to capture a plane rather than hold it hostage, is that it's a long-range variant, with a range of 7,725 nautical miles, enough to cross the Pacific and have a couple thousand miles of range left over.
Major crippling event and attempted recovery seems to also be more plausible than #2.
EDIT: Never mind, insurance explanation for #2 makes sense.
Interesting information about the long range aspect. I wonder if this jet could be used as a weapon in the near future. God speed to the technicians investigating.
Yeah, that was one of the few good reasons I could think of for capturing a plane like that and not asking for ransom. I'm sure there are others, planes are valuable, but possibly only with fairly high end infrastructure, and I can't imagine trying to fence a plane.
One thing that sort of caught my attention, if you presume that they wanted to capture a plane rather than hold it hostage, is that it's a long-range variant, with a range of 7,725 nautical miles, enough to cross the Pacific and have a couple thousand miles of range left over.
Major crippling event and attempted recovery seems to also be more plausible than #2.
EDIT: Never mind, insurance explanation for #2 makes sense.