Missing plane mystery: Indian experts reject Strobe Talbott theory hijackers planned terror attack on city

He said that the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was disabled just before the aircraft reached the east coast of peninsular Malaysia.

He added that the Beijing bound flight made a U-turn and headed towards the Andaman Sea.

The ill-fated flight carrying 239 passengers and crew lost contact with main air traffic control at 1.30am on March 8.

Defence expert Uday Bhaskar says, the probability of such a terror attack on an Indian city is highly unlikely and it would be hasty to jump to conclusions.

"There is a possibility that it could be a conspiracy against India, but the probability of such a thing is very less", Bhaskar said.

Retd Air Marshal A K Singh said: "There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Al Qaeda is prevalent in the subcontinent and they will be more active after American troops start leaving Afghanistan.

"Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi have sky scrappers which the terrorists could target. It is possible to create another 9/11, but the Indian air defece system is more than capable to capture any aircraft that tries to sneak in", Singh said.

"There is no place in India where a plane could have landed without monitoring, and with the media being so extensive and responsible, the plane could not have landed anywhere in India without the information being passed out", the retired IAF official said.