WIDMORE CONNECTIONS

There are two outside influences on the island. The Black Rock / Hanso Family / Foundation and the Widmore Corp.

I think the D.H.A.R.M.A. Intiative happened and then was purged. At some point after that, Charles Widmore becomes aware of the island and brings Alvar Hanso into the Widmore Corp. Alvar proves unhelpful and Widmore has him removed and replaced with Mittlewerk.

Since then The Hanso Foundation, Widmore Corp, and Paik Heavy Industries have been working together to "find" the island again (along with other nefarious operations). Dates are supplied by the LOSTpedia Timeline:

-1987 Purge of D.H.A.R.M.A

-1996 Widmore bought the Black Rock Journal at auction.

-2001 Widmore had Libby deliver the boat to Desmond to seperate him from Penny. Des lands on the island. Somehow Widmore finds out.

-2002 Widmore orchastrates Alvar Hanso's captivity and has him replaced by Mittlewerk (until 2006)

-July 2004 According to Ben, Henry Gale's balloon was sent by Widmore Corp (has logo on the balloon)

-Sept 2004 Orchastrated Flight 815 to crash on the island. Libby is on board. Author of Bad Twin (story about the Widmore Twins) is on board. Sun & Jin on board to deliver a watch for her father C.E.O of Paik H.I. We know now the pilot was replaced at the last minute to divert the flight to the general island coordinates. (I think every one else on the plane is the result of the island/fates bringing together a defense for this threat ala Vinzetti Equation).

-Late 2004 Fake plane immediately planted in the ocean with bodies. Has own salvage ship "find" it while sending a 2nd freighter to the island for the actual work. Naomi is told "there were no survivors" meaning she is to eliminate any they do find. A Ghostbuster, a professor of time travel, an archeologists, and a pilot are the team sent to the island.

-2006 Mittlework's Helgus Antonia leaves port / Hanso freed and regains control of Hanso Foundation.



So why crash a plane and plant a decoy to be "discovered"? It isn't clear when Hanso joined the Widmore Corp Board of Directors but let's assume it was at some point after the purge in 1987. Widmore hears thru the rich man grape vine about this hippie Hanso sitting on an island no one can find with healing properties and a killer black smoke monster. He brings in Hanso to get more info. Finds out there is a "hostile native" population in control of the island now and Hanso prolly didn't have any further ambitions to remove their threat and retake the island. Widmore does his own research, including buying the Black Rock journal in 1996. In an unrelated stroke of luck during 2001, he sends Desmond out in a boat race to get him out of his daughter's life only to find out the dumb shit lands on the island. Some info about this must be recovered which puts Widmore's plan into motion. During 2002, in order to get access to all the Hanso Foundation records, he orchastrates Hanso's captivity and replaces him with Mittlewerk. The two of them set about a plan to find the island with the full resources of the Hanso Foundation. It is at this point that Ben Linus begins working against them and becomes known to Widmore.

In July 2004, Henry Gale is sent out as an advanced scout in a Hot Air Balloon (in an effort to circumvent the island's electromagnetic interference) only to be captured and killed by Ben Linus.

In Sept 2004, the plan to crash the plane is executed. At this time the author of Bad twin completes his manuscript of a damning account of the Widmore family. He is on the plane to start a book tour. Jin is sent on an errand by his father-in-law who hates him because he is the son of a fisherman and shames his family. Sun had been working on a Sleeping with the Enemy escape plan that her father prolly knew about / orchastrated so she was never meant to be on the plane. Libby went crazy between 2001 and getting on the plane in 2004, so she was either a liability to Widmore or was a plant to reconnect with Desmond. Either way, all the Widmore / Paik connected people on the plane were expendable and postioned to die in the crash.

Considering the info Widmore had collected from Desmond's accidental arrival on the island and from Henry Gale's mission to the island, if Widmore were trying to chart a Vile Vortice, a plane would make a nice large opening to get a reading on. There could have also been a beacon planted on the plane to transmit to Widmore, like the watch Jin was to deliver, or something bigger in the luggage bay. Either way, switch pilots, get him to deviate course to the general area and see what happens. In the meantime, plant the decoy plane to be recovered so no one else goes looking for it and put together a team to wipe out Ben's hostiles on the island / capture or communicate with the black smoke monster / negate or understand the time dillation to land more ships / and recover the Black Rock or something on it. In the meantime, the hatch explodes and Penny isn't the only one to notice. From there the boat makes it to the island with the Penny cover story because Widmore & Penny both know Desmond is alive on that island somehow.

Whatever happens between now and 2006 is the reason for the contruction of the Helgus Antonia and it's departure for the island. How the Helgus intersects with the Oceanic 6, or maybe it's the new threat they are needed to return for, doesn't make sense yet.

Also, with Hanso freed in 2006 and the Oceanic 6 trying to get back to the island in 2007, seems like a meeting could be in order doesn't it?