Originally Posted by rickair7777

Mostly ludicrous. Initially the powers-that-be did say they were considering every possibility even including meteor strike (slim chance but still within the realm of possible). A meteor could "take down" an airplane.

But damaging it such that it keeps flying for hours is getting really improbable.

But an object hitting and disabling the cockpit could not re-program the FMS, so the fact that the plane was on a new flight plan pretty much rules out collision with anything.

Unless some 777 dudes have a good explanation how pilots fighting a problem could accidentally load an old flight plan into the FMS (maybe while trying to return to land), deliberate action is now probably the horse in the lead.