Apologies if this has been put forth before but just thought of it myself and decided it was interesting enough a theory to post.
What if the Incident was just that, an incident, nothing more or less.
What if the time lines we are now seeing actually split when the plane crashed on the island. If taken as symbolic the plane splitting in two would point to this.
And since we know that the island time and the time of the "outside" world move at different rates, what if the on-island events of the past 5 season have been but a mere moment in terms of off-island time. And as the on-island events of the current season unfold we will be shown how they effect the outside time line and are ultimately merged with it.
Its most likely not right but I thought interesting enough to throw out there. One of the main contentions being where then did Kate and jack and everyone else that left the island go to? What reality was that if not the on-island or on-the-plane reality? This I do not know but if anyone has any ideas on how to reconcile that, or any other conundrum this scenario would create, throw 'em out there.