Ok, so apparently these things are only like 6" long and may be 2-3" in diameter (the underwater locator beacon itself, not the "black box", which is apparently orange...gotta love the FAA). How tough would it be to, like 10bp said, tie a bunch to 5 lb weights and dump them off the back of boats or from low flying (or even high-flying) aircraft all over the place?
I'm sure it's been done to, or by the Rooskies, but it would be fun to drop a bunch of underwater noisemakers that sound like sonar pings - actual sub sonar pings, all around the coast line of whatever Country you felt like messing with. Actually if you take that idea, and do it in 50 different types of annoying methods all around.... say.... N. Korea, maybe there is a reason the little dictator is as bat$h!t nutty as he is.
They think? Since it ran out of fuel at least a month ago, I garrentee, it is in contact with Mother Earth somewhere....question is where.