In fact, in the first episode of the show, the pilot claims to have lost contact with ground control, and so altered his course, putting the plane some 1,000 km off its route. However, this still puts 815 firmly in the Pacific. Yet no questions are ever asked as to why the plane's "wreckage" is found literally an ocean away from where it was supposed to have been.
The "Oceanic Six" -- six survivors who manage to return to civilization -- end up corroborating the cover-up after they "wash up" on the Indonesian island of Sumba, which only serves to exacerbate the issue. Why, someone should have asked, would hundreds of people looking to get to LA sit quietly while their plane is obviously going the wrong way for hours? You don't need sophisticated equipment to know you're not heading to LA from Sydney when there's dirt below you the entire time you're in the air. "We just assumed the tide was out that day. Way, way out."
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