A Timeline of Flight MH370's Disappearance

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, carrying 239 passengers and crew, went missing early Saturday morning, local time. WSJ's Jason Bellini has the latest developments. Photo: Getty Images.

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[apagoogoo]

if i were a chinese semiconductor engineer, i'd likely be working on laser tech, and it would likely be on behalf of, and in service of, the state.  there's a good chance that my work would be military, and weapons-related.  if i were smart enough to be a semiconductor engineer, i'd be smart enough to question the morality of such work and its potential in the hands of the state.  since we're theorizing, let's even speculate that i overheard a conversation that indicated that the laser weapon i was working on would be handed over to north korea.  then let's say there was a scheduled business trip to malaysia with 28 of my colleagues.  i would probably want to ferret out some likeminded engineers among the group and hatch a plan to use this opportunity to smuggle the tech out of china's hands.  if contact were made with agents representing a nation sympathetic to my situation and willing to grant us passage, that passage would need to be done secretly.  and that passage would be risky and thus require a plan B.  i submit to you that plan B in this case was to disable the plane electronically while leaving it mechanically intact, then immediately change course and rendezvous with some group who could provide cover.  i'm sure plan A would have raised fewer eyebrows.