Someone Is Hiding Something: What Happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370?

by Richard Belzer, George Noory, David Wayne

A year after the disappearance and commencement of the international search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, no sign of the plane has been found-no debris, no bodies, no sign of the much-talked-about black box. Richard Belzer, George Noory, and David Wayne want to know why.Scrutinizing the theories the media and politicians claim are the “most likely” reasons the plane crashed, Belzer, Noory, and Wayne argue that if a year after a huge Boeing 777 has gone missing, and there’s still no sign of it whatsoever, it’s time to think outside the box. The public needs to stop being misled.If a plane and its passengers went "missing" once, what's to stop it from happening again?Some of the theories the authors consider seem implausible on the surface, but the thorough research they've done and the continual failure of politicians, aviation authorities, and military members around the world to give any indication they're wrong makes their arguments as good-if not better-than the more widely shared ones.The title of this thought-provoking volume, Someone is Hiding Something, is a line spoken by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad-perhaps the only government official to publicly acknowledge the true reason that neither Flight 370 nor the 239 people onboard have been found.

Genres: Nonfiction, Conspiracy Theories, History, Aviation, Audiobook

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 17, 2015

About the author

Richard Jay Belzer was an actor, a stand-up comedian, and author. He is best known for his role as Detective John Munch on Homicide: Life on the Street and Law and Order: SVU.

Belzer authored four books, the last two of which were a crime fiction series co-written with Michael Black that featured Belzer as the mystery-solving protagonist. I’m Not a Cop, the first of the two, was published in 2008, followed by the sequel, I’m Not a Psychic, in 2009. Belzer penned UFOs, JFK and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don’t Have to Be Crazy to Believe in 2000, and co-authored How to Be a Standup Comic in 1988 with “Borat” director and writer, Larry Charles, and Catch a Rising Star owner Rick Newman.

Reviews

[Kimber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the logical thought and deductive reasoning on display. Even if they find the plane, it has still been set up that something is off. Belzer & co. takes us through all the evidence in the- not so simple question- of what happened to flight MH370 and the media's (as usual) inept handling. I have my own ideas based on the facts- but I won't spoil it by including them. As someone fascinated by flight, I also enjoyed the background on Boeing 777 & how sophisticated the technology is which leads us to the statement of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, "planes don't just disappear. "

[David Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

We did the most comprehensive timeline that has been done for Flight 370 and it reveals how the official version is not even possible.
Our meta-analysis of the evidence has uncovered some very important information that you probably were not familiar with:

•  A distress call from Flight 370 apparently was made, contrary to the official version that there was not one.

•  The flight crews of two commercial airliners flying near Flight 370 were asked to radio-communicate to the plane and did so, receiving only a garbled response.

•  Fighter planes were reportedly sent up to identify and escort Flight 370, though official reports deny that.

•  There are numerous eyewitness reports of a low-flying, burning jetliner, matching the description of Flight 370, near its known locations.

•  Malaysian police admitted that they faked the photographs of the two Iranian passengers traveling with stolen passports.

•  Radar information was also incorrect. “Flight 370 did not dramatically climb to 45,000 and then dive below 23,000 feet after completing a U-turn before it disappeared.”

•  The number of cell phone pings from a large jetliner “would be a chorus” to the hi-tech listening stations the United States has around the world, said a technology expert, who was amazed that the plane could not be located via those digitized signals.

•  Cell phones should have functioned at some of the reported locations and, indeed, the copilot did place a call with his cell phone.

•  Another cell phone message was reportedly traced to GPS coordinates near the Diego Garcia military base, via the software embedded in the message.

•  Twenty of the passengers on the flight were employees of Freescale Semiconductor, a company that reportedly had developed a new microchip that “might be the most potent next-generation war weaponry.”

•  Contrary to mainstream media misinformation, taking control of an aircraft remotely, is a well-documented capability. It quite clearly can be done.

•  Contrary to mainstream media misinformation, there is no event in all of aviation history that even comes close to the circumstances of Flight 370. Air France 447, though often compared, was quickly located, and was precisely where they thought it would be.

•  Contrary to mainstream media misinfo, commercial jetliners are tracked everywhere, even in remote areas of ocean: “The aircraft’s flight computer, programmed to send automatic position reports by satellite, continues to transmit data.”

Concentrate for a moment, on the broader aspects of this whole crazy scenario:
In a post-9/11 world, a huge commercial airliner— without advising air traffic control— turns sharply off its northeast flight pattern, heading back south or southwest. It is impossible to believe that some form of radar does not track such an extreme move. As far as answers to the question, “What do they do when they see that?”—nothing is not one of them.

To put it as simply as possible: Only a catastrophic event could cause the simultaneous global failure of all safety and emergency systems plus back-up fail-safe emergency systems, on board and in communication and tracking with, a Boeing 777. Many types of catastrophic events can be ruled out.
Those that remain possible are:
•  Massive Fire (only partly plausible because there still should have been time to declare an emergency)
•  Missile Shoot-Down (accidental or intentional, with surreptitious debris retrieval)
•  Hijacking/Advanced Technologies (such as a “cloaking technique” of electronic warfare)

To their credit, a number of high-placed individuals have now come out and concurred with these points. Tim Clarke, the CEO of Emirates Airlines, said recently: "Our experience tells us that in water incidents, where the aircraft has gone down, there is always something … This is true. As far as I know, there have been no cases where a commercial airliner has crashed into the sea and no parts were recovered, even if the crash occurred in an unknown location far out in the middle of the ocean, as MH370's presumably did.”
Sir Tim Clark is President and CEO of Emirates Airlines, the largest airline in the Middle East:
“My own view is that probably control was taken of that airplane.”

Our Facebook page will have all the video links that are in the book on Malaysia FLT 370 so you can WATCH ALONG AS YOU READ https://www.facebook.com/MissingMalay...

[Troy Beals · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative book that is well written. Belzer paints us a picture with the facts and also asks intelligent questions that have yet to be officially answered. Was the plane an act of cyber-terrorism? or Theft? or just really bad luck all around? I had many questions before I started. Even more when I finished. The Big question is still, "Where is the plane now?"

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Conspiracy theory can be fun, and there were interesting details about the crash investigation in "Someone is Hiding Something." absolutely learned some things. The problem is that the writing is pretty terrible. Constant screeds about the "mainstream media" and holier-than-thou direct address (in the style of "listen up, boys and girls") adds no useful information and is extremely distracting.

I was hoping to come away from this book with a reasonable understanding of the various plausible theories of what may have happened to 370 and what was known and not known, mostly because aviation circles discuss 370 quite a bit. Mission sort of accomplished, but it was a struggle. 40 minutes on Wikipedia will provide all of the content in this book.

[Felicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book. If you had any suspicions at all about a plane being able to just disappear in this day and age, you should read this. They give you so many facts about planes and the equipment and eyewitness reports that you did not hear on mainstream news. In fact what did the mainstream news actually tell us. Pretty much nothing! This is a great read, if you like conspiracy theories.

[Trailhoundz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the first couple chapters but couldn't get past the author's snarky, condescending writing style. Now I don't mind a bit of snark and sarcasm now and then, but every page was just overboard piss-poor attitude. Could not take it seriously and had to bring it back to the library. How in the world did this get published??

[Pat Deoring · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was insightful and thought provoking. While not coming to a conclusion, it lays out several popular theories, some pretty far fetched. What I found interesting was the discussion of current technology and its applications in our lives.

[Christopher Roden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, undoubtedly, someone is hiding something. . . . My guess is that the plane and the passengers, if still alive, are on Diego Garcia. Maybe someone should just come out with the truth of why MH370 was abducted.

[Oliverfennell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to be convinced of something by this book, or at least to be given something to think about seriously. 200+ pages later I still leaned towards the official explanation more than anything suggested here. This is mostly due to the immature, sarcastic tone in tackling a grave subject, the fact that the alternative theories contain contradictions at the same time as the authors criticise contradictions elsewhere, and attempts to ram home their points by underline or italicising text, as if that makes it more believable.

On the plus side, I did learn some new things about aviation technology, but a lot of the more entry-level science is obviously flawed even to the layman. The chapter on aliens says literally nothing about MH370 and instead is an incongruous segue into Area 51 speculation, and the concluding chapter - SPOILER ALERT - despite being titled "Conclusions", does not actually arrive at any conclusions. You'll finish the book none the wiser than before you started it, unless 200+ pages of "the government and mass media are bad" sounds original to you.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent book on an airline mystery that really has no answer. What happened to flight 370 has still not been answered, including the possibly tragic fate of all on board. I agree that no plane just dissapears especially in this day and age with all of the fancy electronics available. What the authors do is posit several scenarios, however in an almost painful fashion.
Most of the book puts forward a theory or possibilty and than back this with reference to some video or news article they are basing the supposition upon. This could lead the reader on a very entertaining computer chase for a lot of interesting facts. However if one just wants to relax with a good book away from the electronic distractions you may wish to seek elsewhere.
Overall not bad just some poor construction issues when one thinks of a relaxing read, such as perhaps before a nice nap before a long evening at work.

[Cameron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Airplane disasters is one of my interests, and I hoped this would be an intelligent discussion on the Malaysian Airline 370 mystery. However, if I could give less than one star I would.

It's conspiracy-filled nonsense, contradicting itself at times, and with faults in logic. There's a chapter on alien abduction (I am not kidding), and it references both JFK's assassination and the 9/11 tragedies as obvious conspiracies that somehow must help you understand that this must be a conspiracy too. Some of its argument is based on "why has no debris from the plane has been found?"--it mentions that at least twice in the first few pages--but, of course, a number of pieces of debris have since been found.

Beyond that, it is occasionally poorly written with word-meaning errors ('breech' vs 'broach' for example), and it often has a condescending tone, with a couple of irrelevant personal barbs at individuals.

You'd get more value reading the flight's Wikipedia article--written by amateurs.

[Whitney Vandiver · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love non-fiction that focuses on aircraft incident investigations, and the theories behind Malaysian Flight 370 are numerous and great fodder for discussion. However, it quickly became apparent that the authors were not as honest as they should be on certain information. There were examples throughout the book where information was no represented correctly and several quotes were misattributed or misquoted, stating that professionals in the investigation supported one theory or stated an issue existed when that wasn’t the case. Instead of a factual account, the book was a collection of misguided theories that the authors stretched to fit what they wanted to represent as the truth.

[Kian.ting · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read if you want to know some of the actual facts of what happened to flight MH 370. I feel really sorry for the family members of the 200 over passengers, they will never have closure over the loss of their love ones. I am intrigued by the writings of the Rothchilds and the Blackstone company. I also didn't know that they own the Malaysia federal bank and also the Malaysia airline. Their stake in the 1mm by 1.2 mm microchip pattent is very suspect.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of conspiracy theories here. Some of their huge discoveries are common knowledge in the aviation world. In fairness it was also written before pieces of wreckage began to wash. Some of the theories are not as feasible as they were in 2015. Overall it's as good as one would expect considering the background of the three authors. I enjoyed it.

[Alyssa Schmitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very thorough look into all the possibilities that could have happened to Flight 370. The book itself was very good I just feel like it was a circular book in the fact that it talked about the same points over and over and really didn't talk about much new information in the later chapters just went in depth on what was already talked about.

[Michael A. Simmons, Sr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting reading.

The book spells out the known facts of the flight and postulates numerous possible conclusions. It does not however, reach its own conclusion as to the fate of the aircraft and passengers.

[Greg Koontz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the book and worth reading.

Was not that fond of the style with the personal comments as it was distracting from the book to me, but since he has a few books out, is his style.

I would read more from him.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an interesting read. It Is good to ask questions when the evidence doesn't add up.

[Wade, Rosario, and Marco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosario is so into conspiracy theories.

[Sarah Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written.

Follows all lines of enquiry, not matter how odd, and eliminates as it goes.

Brilliant! Hard to put down!

[Anu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. Hard to put down!

[جاسم كلمد · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There is nothing in aviation history even close to the saga of flight 370"

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT!!

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can get past the snark, this is an interesting read.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! 👏

[larissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically the same things I already knew, pretty boring even for a non-fiction about a missing plane

[Jennifer Baum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two stars because "it was ok." I love a good conspiracy theory, I'm a big fan of George Noory, and I was mesmerized by this story last year, so it was a no-brainer to buy the book as soon as I heard about it. There wasn't much new (to me) in the book (compared to the vast internet reading I did on it last year), but it was still interesting and worth reading. I wish they had explored the MH17 connection a little more (because isn't it an odd coincidence?). I could have done without the cheeky tone throughout. Had I been a guest editor, I would have eliminated that, and there were even some weird things related to the disappearance I read about last year that were excluded in this book... such as: they could have gone more in depth on the pilot's political affiliation, Sarah Bajc's emerging media role/leadership (she was only briefly mentioned), many of the other false leads such as the oil slick spotted shortly after the disappearance then quickly ruled out (i.e. would that be related to a possible cover up if it really was a missile shoot down?). I could probably list more that I would have added to this book. And it could have used a good index/more thorough table of contents. One thing I hadn't heard was that there was a "listening device" that's used globally that detected no crash impact, not in land or in water, around the right time frame (that was new to me). All in all, interesting read. Let me put my tin cap back on.

[Roslee Saad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bertepatan dengan tajuk, penulis hanya memberi fakta-fakta kemungkinan apa yang terjadi kepada nasib pesawat MH370. Penulis membangkitkan bagaimana media perdana cuba untuk menutup kes ini. Adalah tidak logik sebuah pesawat boleh hilang tanpa dikesan dengan kemudahan teknologi kini. Penulis membandingkan trajedi MH17, Amerika khususnya dengan teknologi satelit mereka dapat mengesan anti pesawat dari sempadan Rusia/Ukraine mengapa tiba-tiba setelit seluruh dunia tidak dapat mengesan MH370.

Ke semua sudut dilihat sama ada pesawat ini dirampas, akibat cuaca, tindakan pengganas, cubaan bunuh diri, masalah mekanikal, ditembak, sabotaj, teknologi terkini sehinggalah kemungkinan mendarat di lapangan terbang tentera US di Diego Garcia, Lautan Hindi. Penulis juga mengaitkan teknologi yang dimiliki Boeing iaitu Boeing Honeywell Uninterruptible Autopilot yang boleh mengawal sesebuah pesawat secara autopilot oleh pihak ketiga.


Banyak rujukan yang dibuat dan boleh disahkan kembali dengan link yang diberi. Secara peribadi saya setuju dengan Tun Mahadir. Tun Mahadir sahaja yang berani menuduh CIA dan Boeing terlibat di dalam trajedi ini.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plight of Flight 370 continues to baffle the world, largely because nothing quite like the disappearance has ever happened in aviation history. The authors present several different theories, leaving no stone unturned. They raise questions such as: why has no debris been located especially since after the tsunami in Japan, "pieces of debris as large as refrigerators and motorcycles washed ashore at beaches thousands of miles away." Or why no passengers used their cell phones, such as those documented calls from passengers on the doomed 9/11 planes.
The authors present scenarios ranging from: cyber hijacking, fire, weather, terrorism, and a link between the aircraft and Diego Garcia, an island south of India. Questions raise more questions.
The one certainty after reading this book is that you will be dissatisfied with the recent official ruling that the flight's fate was due to "accidental circumstances."

[Laraine Ryan]

Good summary, if a bit of a snarky tone. Very modern, with many cites to web sites and videos. No real speculation as to who might be hiding what. The US base on Diego Garcia tends to bring out the conspiracy theories. I think the authors overlook the vastness and remoteness of the Indian Ocean and dismiss the idea there might not be radar coverage over it too easily. But it sure is puzzling.