Thunderball Hypothesis:
Alternate Thunderball Hypothesis (more like a WTH moment):
Amelia Earhart is arguably one of the most famous people in the world,
because she vanished without a trace.
Someone who want to have lasting fame - and not caring about fortune - conceives a copycat crime. Call them The Evil One (TEO).
TEO hits upon the idea of making him/herself disappear in a similar manner, but lacks the resources to duplicate Earhart's flight in a similar manner.
However, TEO
does have the resources to commandeer a commercial airliner.
Such a comandeering, and subsequent vanishment of the aircraft and several hundred people, will assure lasting fame to TEO.
The TEO cares not a wit that he/she will have to force the vanishment to happen in order to assure lasting fame.
Fatal flaw - the TEO doesn't fail to adequately consider that if everyone vanishes, no one knows what happens ... or do they?
LTM, who kinda' enjoys the funhouse mirrors at the amusement park,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 ECSP