Ask HN: What could have happened to flight MH370?

My sister-in-law was an Aeronautical Engineer (specializing in jet propulsion systems), and a close family friend is a former NTSB investigator. Both said almost exactly the same thing: until they find the plane, everything is an uninformed guess.

Actually...our NTSB friend said something about "clowns engaged in a furious mental circle jerk", but he's been on the pointy end of pointless speculation about tragic events and gets touchy.

My guess would be that a sudden mechanical failure caused the plane to explode mid air, giving the crew no time to send a distress signal.