As one of the most tragic – and mysterious – stories in recent memory, there is no shortage of books whipped out in the past year with theories about what really happened to Malaysia Air Flight 370 last March. However, this is the ONLY one out there written by our favorite celebrity conspiracy theorist, Richard Belzer, aka Detective Munch from Law & Order: SVU. Yes, that’s right – he played a conspiracy theorist and he also IS one in real life. “Someone is Hiding Something: What Happened to Malaysia Airlines Flight 370?”, by Richard Belzer, George Noory, and David Wayne, presents many theories that attempt to answer the title question. “These are their stories (DUN DUN)”
- The Flight Was Diverted and Landed at Diego Garcia Military Base in the Indian Ocean
Though this idea may seem farfetched, there is an interesting story tied to Flight 370 that, if true, would confirm this theory. Philip Wood, a passenger on MH 370, reportedly sent a message from his iPhone and attempted to send a photo on March 18th (ten days after the disappearance). Though the photo did not come through, it’s metadata allegedly revealed that the coordinates of the cell phone’s GPS location at the time the message was sent match with Diego Garcia. The text message reportedly read as follows: “I have been held hostage by unknown military personal after my flight was hijacked (blindfolded). I work for IBM and I have managed to hide my cellphone in my ass during the hijack. I have been separated from the rest of the passengers and I am in a cell. My name is Philip Wood. I think I have been drugged as well and cannot think clearly.” To make matters even more disturbing, Wood’s girlfriend, Sarah Bajc, has been the victim of multiple break-ins and death threats since the flight’s disappearance. (See NBC News Article Here) She now has publicly stated that a source told her that the flight had a military escort and, indeed, landed safely and the passengers are still alive. The big questions, obviously, are where and why?
- The Flight Was Shot Down and Debris Was Covertly Recovered To Disguise This Fact
This theory is probably the least fantastical of all the major ideas presented. Though there are possible variations, the general theory is that the flight was Hijacked and was shot down, likely by U.S. Military, to prevent the Hijackers from crashing the plane into the base on Diego Garcia. The idea that terrorists of some sort would want to destroy Diego Garcia makes sense, given the fact that the military base holds “pre-positioned military supplies for regional operations.” If the plane was set to be used as a weapon, it is believable that protocol might include the destruction of the plane as a last resort. Some believe that the search efforts were deliberately directed away from the actual crash site so that the government would have additional time to covertly recover the debris. If this was, indeed, a hijacking incident, it is difficult to imagine why no terrorist group has taken credit – unless, of course, it was an individual or small group acting alone, or the organization responsible did not want to claim a ‘failed’ mission. There are eyewitness reports that support this idea, which you can read more about in this CNN article.
- The Flight Made Contact With Extraterrestrials
Ok, so this one is a bit out there. However, if alien life has made contact with humans, there is no telling why or how they might interact with a Boeing 777 and the 239 souls aboard. Not much to say about this theory, other than it would bring new meaning to a fear of flying.
For more info, you can find the book here – and check out the replay of the Coast to Coast radio show from Tuesday March 10th, where host (and co-author) Noory and guest Belzer discuss the book.
*Note: The image attached to this story is not meant to convey a callous attitude about this tragic and terrifying story. Sam thought it was cool.