This is C&P'ed from a different thread where I came up with the idea with some help from MadWatch.

How about every time that the Execute button is pressed, the "whatever-it-is" on the island, that is perhaps part of the experiment, releases a super-magnetic discharge of sorts and that's EXACTLY why the plane lost communications... as well as some of the other crashes on the island! Those responsible for the experiments are not necessarily knowledgeable that this is happening but probably know that if the button does not get pushed, the built-up "whatever" that causes the magnetic discharge will _______ (explode, implode, cause a human to become sick.....). Of course, it would only happen on occasion that the magnetic discharge is released while a plane or ship is within range of the discharge. Is it possible for a plane to travel 1000 miles in 1 hour and 48 minutes? It sounds reasonable to me... Perhaps the Desmond pushed Execute once, jamming the planes communications and then, 108 minutes later, the plane was flying AWAY from the island (because it had passed it) and when the magnetic discharge occurred, it tore the back of the plane away from the front...... Thoughts anyone?

I like it, I like it!

Also, consider this! What if the magnetic force is what keeps the island cloaked from the outside world, and somehow Walt knows this and thats why he said dont push the button, because then they might be found, if the force is dropped...or something like that

Hmm....that's another interesting idea as to why NOT to push the button...

Although it wouldn't fit with my theory of something happening if the discharge isn't released, it's definitely another excellent theory!

How about every time that the Execute button is pressed, the "whatever-it-is" on the island, that is perhaps part of the experiment, releases a super-magnetic discharge of sorts ....the built-up "whatever" that causes the magnetic discharge will _______ (explode, implode, cause a human to become sick.....

OK, but that begs the questions as to why you wouldn't simply automate the process? Why would you leave something as important as this to someone who sleeps in cycles of less than 100 minutes? The process of having a person actually push the button means that there must be some meaning in having a person do it. With something as simple as discharging a magnet, you could simply set a timer.

My opinion The buttons do not need to be pushed at all. It is all part of sadistic social experiment. I am with Jack on this one.

Yeh, I've always been for the theory of it being a psychological experiment but still haven't been able to place how the plane ripped in half, if it did at all. So this kinda fills that theory for me.

As far as setting a timer, it could very well be done but it may be better to rely on TWO humans than to put your total faith in a computer, which was a fairly new concept at the time that the one in the show came out. If the project has been forgotten about since then (which it apparently has) then no one would have ever bothered to 'upgrade' the numbers sequence to a program, with a human or two there to fill in in case the program does crash.

On another thread, someone posed this
It could be. I have several thoughts about what the buttons and code might mean. One is that the code is "pinging" the other stations and preventing the security system from doing something (like say, nuking the island because of a containment breech).

Not a bad idea. Someone in each station entering the code. I was thinking, what if that something is releasing the sickness?

An EMP could bring down an airplane but this does not explain why flight 815's radio went out so that noone else knew where they were. The EMP would have brought them down from the sky imediately not 1000miles later. Also in order to effect the airplane it would have to go 35000 feet in the air where 747's fly at. An EMP that big would show up on other systems and the world would know about it. So while it may have been what happened I'm not to sure about the realism of that theory.