Who made the set up?

[lostfan777]

Widmore, for the simple fact of diverting attention away from the island

As I posted, why would he bother with the black box, it would just prove his cover to be false?  I'm not insisting that I'm right, just looking for clues either way.

maybe they are still to drop it in the trench?

Why would they go through the trouble of removing the box from the plane only to replace it again.  They wouldn't need to fake a recording to imitate flight 815, if anyone else was able to retrieve the box, they'd be able to retrieve the bodies also and the cover would be blown.

They have the black box so, just in case, if some dumbass actually decided to go down to the 'Oceanic 815' wreckage to retrieve it, they don't find it.  If someone else found that box, they would then be able to prove it wasn't the real 815, because that black box would reveal it was from a different plane.  I think I'm right about that anyway... I don't have to much experience with black boxes.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong please.

You're not wrong about the box, but like I've been saying, if someone was able to get down to the plane, the bodies would be more accessible than the box and the cover would be blown.  They wouldn't even need to bother with the box.

[PrincessLeia]

I'm 100% with lostfan777 here.  When has Ben NOT lied?  Of course Tom will say that Widmore is behind it (& have the "evidence" to prove it), because that's what Ben's feeding him!  Like Miles said...Ben is STILL playing every one to his own advantage.  Remember also that Charlotte & Dan were rendering the gas inert.  The instructions/ actions of the freighter team seem more consistent with Ben being behind the staged crash.

Right now I see Frank & the Captain as non-affiliated.  They both seem interested in simply uncovering the truth.

[fieldy32]

I just feel that the black box would be the ultimate proof that the plane is fake.  The bodies would take so much longer, plus you'd have to grab multiple bodies, because not everyone has DNA and Dental records so you'd have to make sure to grab a bunch to test. Especially if the first few wouldn't match up to anyone from the plane (which would obviously be the case).  A good scientist would keep testing until he got through, oh I dunno, a third of the bodies, maybe even half before he deduced the bodies weren't the real passengers.   If you grab the black box, then run its data... 'BAM' it's not Oceanic 815.   As quick and simple as that.... they just want as much time as possible to find this island before anyone else starts looking for it.

[Wishbone]

At first I thought Widmore, but someone pointed out to me (sorry forgot who or where) the mention of the black box.  Forget for a second that this important piece of evidence is carelessly floating around on this junk ship full of nutjubs, the question is why would Widmore want the black box from a fake crash if he was the one who staged it in the first place?  It makes more sense that he wants evidence that it is in fact fake, so I voted that Ben planted the plane!  I'm locking it in!  Final answer!

My thoughts exactly - I'm putting my money on Ben

[nomteticus]

Widmore seemed to be better motivated to do it. I'm not sure why Ben would go to all the trouble. The passangers would have probably been declared dead after some time anyway, even without finding the plane.

[Optimus J]

One more thing that caught my mind is the video of Widmore torturing an other. How did he caught him? My guess is that while he was helping to set up the fake crash, Widmore people found him, and proceed to interrogation. Hence the freighter in Fiji, the same place the others staged the crashed. Then Widmore goes search the island from his best lead. And the fact the boat haven't all that secrecy, is one more factor to favor Charles.
The only thing that bothers me in Widmore's team is that bald guy that recruits Naomi and goes to press on Hugo in the sanatorium. He is too weird.

[tweb]

I say someone other than those 2 options...

[Collector]

It had to be Ben. The helicopter pilot told Michael that he convinced Widmore that the discovered wreckage was fake.

Umm, not exactly. The helicopter pilot has clearly been fooled by Widmore, and he is one of the "innocent" that Ben is talking about.
Charles Widmore faked the plane crash by digging up bodies from graveyards and buying a plane or something. Ben didn't do this one.

[hyperform]

i think there should be another option in this poll, because i think ben and widmore are working together.

[BobBX542]

i think there should be another option in this poll, because i think ben and widmore are working together.

Really?? How so??

[LostinLock]

Back to the original topic here how did Tom have all that information.  It goes back to what I have thought right along that Ben and Widmore are involved to some degree. 

It is very plausible that Tom had that information to influence Michael because the deal had gone sour between them.  Maybe just maybe the guy we see Widmore "beating" up is Arturo (we know the actor portraying Arturo is not listed in that episode so we are going with creative thinking here) because he was suppose to kill Tom.

Remember when our trio of "rescuers" landed they said that they came for Benjamin Linus and he also stated that.  So I am not conviced that there hasn't been a union of these men at one point in their relationship.

[hyperform]

I'm starting to think that ben did it, following the "he who smelt it, dealt it" line of logic. He just has way too much info on whats going on and hell I could make an invoice in about five minutes saying I bought a 777.

[LostinLock]

Umm the obvious here was Tom a bit surprised about the news of finding the plane in the ocean.  I think that is a big no folks. 

An additional obvious would be why is/was Widmore looking for this plane wreck?  Who was on that commercial flight that he was looking for?  Does he have holdings in Oceanic?  Are one of his many branches of interest looking for shipwrecks and plane wrecks?  Somehow I don't think that his how he makes his money, but if he is on the hunt for Dharma then looking in the ocean is a good idea, because he may have been looking for a Dharma shark.

Point... this is very interesting that both of these men have information on the fake the plane

[opgelost]

Widmore was looking for the Black Rock.
He bought the diary in 1996.
A ship that was searching the Black Rock found the oceanic plane.
They were not looking for the plane.

[LostinLock]

Widmore was looking for the Black Rock.
He bought the diary in 1996.
A ship that was searching the Black Rock found the oceanic plane.
They were not looking for the plane.

I know he bought the ships log, but I didn't know they were looking for the wreck, was that stated?

Remember 1996 is when he purchased and eight years later he stumbles on flight 815..sorry still not buying he stumbled on this flight. Thanks for helping me though