I think they would just buy the parts on the black market rather than steal entire planes. As a lot of these old airliners are used throughout the third-world,

I think they would just buy the parts on the black market rather than steal entire planes. As a lot of these old airliners are used throughout the third-world, I'm sure there is a brisk trade in parts. The story itself says they raided another crashed plane for the parts, and that the only thing worth anything on the plane was the engines. Personally I vote for insurance fraud as (1), then theft for parts as (2). Either case doesn't need a 'proper' landing (ie, one where the plane has to take off again). I'm sure there are plenty of places where you could put a plane down if you didn't need to get it back up again, and then strip it for parts. I'm sure the fuselage will turn up somewhere, someday.