Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

The Taking of MH370

Rate this book
The most complete and technically informed account to date of what happened to missing Malaysian airliner MH370. ""It’s an astonishing performance. Wise goes through every piece of evidence, every report, every word and comes to the conclusion that investigators were deliberately and brilliantly misled by whoever took over the plane to look in the wrong place. Read this stunning piece of investigative journalism and see if he convinces you." -- John Podhoretz, Commentary magazine. Five years after a state-of-the-art Boeing 777 vanished into the night over the South China Sea, renowned science and aviation author Jeff Wise offers a compelling and detailed account of what happened that night and in the months and years that followed. In his follow-up to "The Plane That Wasn't There," named the Best Kindle Single of 2015, Wise walks readers through the many developments that have taken place in the meantime and explains why despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars and searching an area of seabed the size of Great Britain, authorities were unable to locate the plane's wreckage. Officials and independent experts were stunned by their failure, but Wise predicted it four years ago. Here he distills the fruits of exhaustive research and arrives at a conclusion that upends our understanding of what humans are capable of, both technologically and morally. Jeff Wise is a science journalist specializing in aviation and psychology. A licensed pilot of gliders and light airplanes, he has also written for New York, the New York Times, Time, Businessweek, Esquire, Popular Mechanics, and many others. He is also the author of Extreme The Science of Your Mind in Danger. A native of Massachusetts, he lives outside New York City with his wife and two sons.

193 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 3, 2019

106 people are currently reading
335 people want to read

About the author

Jeff Wise

15 books19 followers
Jeff Wise is a science writer, outdoor adventurer, and pilot of airplanes and gliders. A contributing editor at Popular Mechanics and Travel + Leisure, he has also written for The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Details, Popular Science, Men’s Journal, and many others. In the course of his journalism career he has surfed in Alaska, scuba dived the South China Sea, piloted a WWII fighter plane, and mushed a dog team in Montana. He lives in New York City.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
96 (37%)
4 stars
89 (35%)
3 stars
43 (16%)
2 stars
15 (5%)
1 star
11 (4%)
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
Profile Image for Nick Borrelli.
402 reviews470 followers
October 3, 2019
Interesting hypothesis as to what ultimately happened in the mysterious disappearance of flight MH370. Hadn't heard this one before but I guess it's just as believable as any other theory. Wise definitely lays out his reasoning with some in-depth research and it is a very intriguing read for the most part. Yes there were a couple of times where Wise maybe stretched the boundaries of credulity somewhat but I think he was just trying to come at this from an angle that hasn't been explored before or maybe not as much as conventional wisdom from most journalists/investigators. A worthwhile and thought-provoking read.
Profile Image for George P..
560 reviews63 followers
May 6, 2019
A little after midnight on Saturday, March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 departed Kuala Lumpur International Airport for its six-hour flight to Beijing Capital International Airport. It made its last contact with Malaysian air traffic control 38 minutes after takeoff, then dropped off ATC radar. It was tracked by Malaysian military radar for another hour before flying out of Malaysian-monitored airspace. The plane’s satellite communication system continued to make hourly “handshakes” with an Inmarsat satellite until 8:19 a.m. The plane has not been seen or heard from since, its 227 passengers and 12 crew presumed dead.

International authorities eventually concluded that the airline crashed into the Southern Indian Ocean, the crash officially ruled an accident. This conclusion was reached by a highly technical analysis of the plane’s satellite metadata. Malaysia, China, and Australia conducted massive maritime searches for the airline beginning in 2014, but ended those searches in January 2017. A private company reopened the search for six months in 2018, but like the previous searches, found nothing. Over the next few years, airplane debris belonging to MH370’s type of plane, a Boeing 777, was found on islands in the Western Indian Ocean or washed up on countries in East Africa. Together with the radar and satellite metadata, these debris are the only evidence of MH370’s fate.

Jeff Wise is a Harvard-educated science reporter who specializes in aviation and psychology. He has followed the disappearance of MH370 since the beginning, and in this book reaches a startling conclusion at odds with the official account: The plane didn’t crash (on accident or through a terrorist event). It was taken by Russian operatives and flown to Yubileyniy, a Russian controlled airstrip in Kazakhstan. The most likely reason for the hijacking—and hence murder of 239 souls—was to distract Western authorities from Russia’s 2014 depredations in Ukraine.

I know, I know—that’s crazy talk, right? It is a measure of Wise’s journalistic skill and aviation expertise that The Taking of MH370 carries you along with it almost to the end of the book. Wise highlights multiple anomalies in the data points acknowledged by all authorities, focusing on four in particular: (1) The satellite metadata “came out of nowhere.” For unexplained reasons, the aircraft’s satellite data unit (SDU) powered off, stopped transmitting, then sometime later rebooted and started transmitting again. Authorities have not adequately explained why this happened.

(2) The satellite metadata “transmitted an unexpected clue.” Normally, metadata does not transmit information about where and how a plane is traveling. But for technical reasons involving the SDU’s manufacturer, the age of the Inmarsat satellite, and the plane’s path along a north-south axis, its flightpath could be inferred. Wise finds this “awfully convenient.”

(3) The satellite metadata “couldn’t be cross-checked with any other evidence.” The Inmarsat data is the only hard evidence we have as to reconstruct MH370’s flight.

But (4) “when evidence later emerged that could have confirmed the turn south [instead of north to Beijing], it didn’t.” The massive years-long maritime search found no airplane. The debris that washed ashore showed evidence of being in the water for a shorter period of time than required had the plane crashed into the ocean when MH370 did. Also, debris showed up in places that were hard to reconstruct given knowledge of weather and ocean currents. And, again referring to the SDU’s reboot, Wise argues that the reboot signal contained serious anomalies never explained by authorities.

Had Wise left the matter with these anomalies, his book merely would’ve demonstrated how little we actually know about the fate of MH370, indeed, how weird reality unfortunately can be. It’s the Russia angle that pushes his book from acknowledging the weird to speculating the crazy. Think of it this way: Wise makes much of the fact that the satellite metadata pointed investigators in one direction, but the plane was never found. Fair enough, but he takes this as dispositive that the plane never went in that direction. But that’s not quite right, logically speaking. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, after all.

And anyway, other than speculation, what precisely is the evidence for Russian involvement? Honestly, I couldn’t see any that was persuasive. No one tracked MH370 to Kazakhstan. No satellite metadata places it in the vicinity. No satellite observed it. (And given that this is a Russian military airstrip, one assumes the U.S. is watching it closely.) I grant that Putin is a bad man and that Russia wanted to distract the West from what Russian forces were doing in Ukraine, but the fact that the story of MH370 took Ukraine off the front pages does not constitute evidence of the taking of MH370.

Indeed, the evidence Wise cites of Russia’s use of disinformation to distract its enemies and pursues its policy directives points us away from his conclusions about MH370. Toward the end of the book, Wise cites Russia’s use of disinformation in the 2016 U.S. presidential election as proof of its nefarious intent. Russia’s nefariousness, I think we can all agree, goes without saying. But here’s the problem: We know what they did and what they’re doing, right down to the name and address of the GRU officer unleashing bots on Facebook and Twitter. When Russian-backed Ukrainian forces shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 four months after MH370 disappeared, according to Wise, we could literally observe via satellite the truck that fired the missile. Given U.S. penetration of Russian intelligence operations, given our satellite observations of their military, it’s difficult for me to believe that Russia could’ve taken MH370 without the U.S. observing it. (And yes, I realize this is an absence-of-evidence argument too.)

Thus, in assessing The Taking of MH370, all I can say is that it is both fascinating and maddening. Fascinating for guiding readers through the weirdness of the data and evidence that all must use to come to a conclusion about MH370’s fate. Maddening because it lands on an explanation that, without direct evidence in its favor, grounds the event in malign human action. I don’t like the Russian government any more than Wise, but I don’t think they’re farsighted and competent enough to pull off this complex a con. Of course, the reason why conspiracy theories are so powerful is because they make tragedy explicable and therefore meaningful.

But what if the fact is simply that anomalies happen and reality is weird?

Book Reviewed
Jeff Wise, The Taking of MH370(The Yellow Cabin Press, 2019).

P.S. If you liked my review, please click “Helpful” on my Amazon review page.
Profile Image for William.
17 reviews1 follower
February 6, 2025
Some interesting, though far fetched ideas in here. Incredibly let down by complete lack of basic pre-print checks and copy editor - I counted more than 15 typos or errors which is terrible even for an Amazon printed book. This is ironic given he talked in the book about seeing Blaine Gibson as credible because he was a competent speller, which “means a lot when you’re dealing with people on the internet”.

The book does pull together information on the case fairly well but always with a sense of distrust of all government agencies involved and what’s more a sense of righteousness over very complex scientific matters. This is intriguing from someone who is a science journalist and not a scientist.

I became intrigued by MH370 though not as much as Jeff. I’m not an expert but an avid amateur sleuth on this case, having read many of the formal reports on the tragedy. I always find alternative views and theories interesting and give them due consideration but Jeff focuses too much on tid bit pieces of information and often the lack of something to justify his, in my view fanciful, theory of a Russian backed northward hijacking landing in Kazakhstan.

For example, he dismissed without verification Salua’s military radar as being off so not able to notice the plane on a northern journey just because the Andaman’s was turned off. No sign by any nation, ATC or force is to me the biggest sign making a northern journey not credible.

Perhaps most of all, he overlooks or unjustly explains away considerable evidence that points to the Ockham’s razor explanation. The amount of leaps, cover ups and remarkably unlikely technical and surreptitious activities that need to have occurred for his theory are many more than the Ockham’s explanation. Though obviously Ockham’s doesn’t preclude a very unlikely situation from occurring (as in my view occurred in terms of a southern suicide scenario with useless ATC/Malaysia Airlines). As he posits but in bad writing form, he failed to explain or justify the core of his argument - he argued at length that he believes the Inmarsat metadata handshakes were falsified in some way (his sole basis for a northward journey proposition) but his only basis for this is that the Russian on board plugged in a black box device to the electronics bay under the business class hatch minutes into the flight (not bothering to explain how that would go unseen so early in a flight when people are awake) that spoofed the metadata in a way that gave readings suggestive of a southern journey while it actually flew north. Russia’s approach to MH17 was to blow it up in plain sight with a missile launcher - while I see how that was aimed at distracting from Russias’s Ukraine activities it just isn’t credible that a group of Russians and Ukrainians together pulled this off in such a completely perfect way. He admitted in the book that even if it was possible to come up with a piece of tech that could spoof the satellite readings, one would have to know in advance how Inmarsat would delve into the metadata to pick apart and backwards engineer the plane’s journey - something which Inmarsat had never done and didn’t know would work until they tried. In effect, he back fills a theory with knowledge and information that could only have been known after the event.

From the above you’ll probably gather that I’m in the pilot suicide or hypoxia journey south until the plane dived into oblivion with some discrepancies in final moments which meant it was off course vs the search zone. This book gave me confidence that I could write a book of equal length with my own arguments but better written with no typos - maybe I should do that.
Profile Image for Jim Green.
21 reviews
March 17, 2019
Thorough analysis, disappointing political commentary

The thoughts and research of Jeff Wise mirror my own. I thought from almost the beginning of the MH 370 Investigation that the main stream thinking of what happened and where the plane may have ended up were wrong. Jeff Wise has gone the extra mile in Investigation of the inmarset data and other telltale data. He has remained independent in his thinking and research. I had a great deal of respect for the author for his steadfastness until I got to the political commentary about President Trump toward the end of the book. I was profoundly disappointed to see the narrative skew into the realm of Trump bashing. The author has a right to his opinion and the right to voice it. However in the context of a book regarding the mystery of MH 370 I found it to be misplaced and off subject. It would be similar to me writing a book about the NY Mets winning the world series in 1986 and veering off to take shots at Ronald Reagan who was The President at that time. Just misplaced.
Profile Image for Maria Perryman.
86 reviews
August 25, 2023
This is a very interesting read with some additional details I had not found online or in the documentary on Netflix. It’s such a fascinating and horrifying mystery- the vanishing of a 777 in the middle of the night and 10 years later we still don’t know what happened. The more I read about MH370, the more confused I become. Every theory sounds plausible when put in the right context. It becomes difficult to distinguish what’s true and what’s just speculation with so many competing opinions. The author, though he try’s to remain somewhat objective, has clearly formed an opinion that the plane was hijacked by Russia in an effort to create a smokescreen to divert public attention from political issues in their country at the time. The author doesn’t touch on the significance of the cargo or the passengers on the plane, he does not think they were the target. So the book is definitely bias.

Hopefully one day we will have answers.
Profile Image for Tim.
89 reviews13 followers
February 23, 2021
Did Not Enjoy It

Give credit where credit is due. The author is extremely passionate about MH370’s disappearance. I appreciate that and I think there will be some who could really ‘get into’ the flow and eager thought behind the writing and hypothesis. I just was not one of them. To me the book played out as someone desperately(too?) trying to show they’re right about a very very unlikely hijacking scenario regarding what happened to MH370.

To be fair, maybe the author is correct. Nothing definite can be concluded until, if ever, it is found. But this book did not convince me in any tangible way the disappearance of MH370 was a K/R master hijack and spoof operation.
Profile Image for Vicki Duncan.
374 reviews
August 8, 2021
Well this was a quick hit today and free on my Amazon Unlimited trial too. I’d had this book on my list after hearing about it on a podcast (but I can’t remember now which one!).

This book is about the disappearance of Malaysian airliner Flight MH370. If you remember it disappeared in 2014 after taking off in Kuala Lumper, not long before a second 777 was shot down over eastern Ukraine.

This was a fascinating account of what Jeff Wise thinks happens to the plane and while it was quite technical at times, it was easy to read and understand.

All I can say is I’m glad I’m not flying anywhere any time soon!
Profile Image for Drew B.
2 reviews
March 13, 2023
Wise is a good storyteller and his credentials as an aviation journalist gave him a fair amount of room to work. Unfortunately, Wise doesn't always make the best use of his gift of storytelling. It feels at times as though Wise breaks left because others break right. I believe he wants to find the truth. I question whether he will be disappointed if (after all of these years) the truth is a significant departure from a number of his own theories? Hopefully the crash of MH370 will someday be solved. From there I hope Wise can find professional closure for himself as the families of those lost will no doubt be hoping to find closure of a far more personal kind.
Profile Image for Jill Robbertze.
733 reviews9 followers
November 30, 2020
I, like millions of people around the world followed the news and extensive search for the missing Malaysian airliner MH370, so I was very intrigued when I came across this book. Jeff Wise had me totally absorbed by his well researched investigation into the technical details of how the investigators worked out where to search and what they believed happened. He explains why he thinks there may be more to this mystery and he has a very interesting and believable theory of what possibly happened. I am keeping an open mind but I really found this little book very interesting.
9 reviews
November 3, 2025
i much appreciated the writer’s taking a new view

i appreciated the writer’s deep dive into info, and his taking a new view, and that he assumes we’re dumber than “they” are .. but if all that he proposes is true, what then?

Why is this “hijack/appropriation” of a common Boeing 777 worth all the subversive effort ?!?

I do not find an “answer” or even a lead in here - i felt like he led me carefully on a high wire and then let me stand blindfolded with no guide?
Profile Image for Neil Wilson.
7 reviews1 follower
March 9, 2019
Good Read

Possible...but there needs to be more evidence to move from possible to probable. Such a sad event. I feel for the individuals and families who lost loved ones - either from accident or design. So sad. Whether the author proves his point or not he has done a lot of work and it has helped to keep the quest for the truth from disappearing in the night.
5 reviews
March 18, 2019
Interesting version of the MF370 incident

Fascinating story about MH370. The author does a very good detective work which in the end becomes a conspiracy theory. A theory nevertheless until proven false. A must read for history and aeronautical buffs.
1 review
February 17, 2020
Nothing new here including the jabs at President Trump.

This book is a waste of time. Consists of already known information and wild speculation with a twist of Liberal politics thrown in.
20 reviews
July 27, 2020
I picked this up because it is by the author of the Popular Mechanics article on the crash of AF447. That was a fascinating piece, and so when I heard about this, I picked it up. Well-researched and surprisingly compelling. Worth your time if you're interested in the fate of MH370.
9 reviews
November 19, 2020
Wise has a way with words.

Outstanding read. Couldn’t keep the book down. His ideas and journalistic style are captivating. I read it twice. The second time was even better.
116 reviews
August 19, 2021
Good reading. Interesting theory. A bit far fetched but interesting to consider
2 reviews1 follower
February 9, 2024
no answers here

Book leaves reader on the edge of a cliff. The ending is speculative, however the speculation leaves off with frustratingly little follow through. Disappointing.
Profile Image for Anthony Chase.
36 reviews
October 17, 2024
“The ultimate victory is the one that your opponent doesn’t even know has been fought” really twisted what I had been suspecting ever happened to this flight. My honest thought was it had been turned around heading south lost somewhere out in the middle of nowhere above the Indian Ocean. I didn’t realize how closely the Russians were involved in this scheme to divert attention away from their own political ambitions. Very interesting hypothetical scenario regarding the best possible explanation of the disappearance in the epilogue.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.