LAST EDITED ON 04-14-10 AT 10:19 PM (EST)>>> But the castaways don't know that so, logically, they should have asked.
One of those words does not belong in a sentence discussing LOST.
One of the biggest complaints about the show, a complaint I agree with, is that the lostaways hardly ever follow up on chances to get presumably crucial information by asking simple questions.
These are the people who are off to blow up a largish commercial airliner capable of flying Trans-Pacific flights, which not only has received zero attention by airline mechanics since its crash landing, but it's sitting on a tiny island without a runway.
An aircraft that can fly from LAX to Guam requires a smooth surface runway of, at minimum, 4-5000 feet. Unless Smocke is carrying the thing on his immortal shoulders, it's not going anywhere.