Gone are the days of footnotes and references! Gone are the days of media embedded in the text. Now we can go to the source, so this ebook uses hyperlinks to media on the web. The hyperlinks take you to videos and documents for further information and visual explanation, somewhat having the best of the web integrated into the book. For example, if you want to see how to fly a 777 on autopilot then take the course. If you don’t know what the electronic and equipment bay looks like, then click and you have the captain show you around the avionics of the plane. DOn’t know what hypoxia is then take the Air Force training video. Need documentation on the Kimberly process, child soldiers or parts availability then just click the hyperlink.
The response time is excellent with a Kindle reader running the MOBI format. The videos are short enough not to interfere with the story. Within the text hyperlinks help navigation within the book.
Many have asked me why I wrote this book. The answer is curiosity as to what happened to Malaysia Airlines flight 370. Initially, I thought that the aircraft had probably met a watery demise in the Gulf of Thailand. Later when the news came out that the plane had turned to head west after its identification had been disabled; it became obvious that the plane was still airborne when it disappeared from civilian air traffic control screens. Further information that it had been tracked by the Malaysian military heading up the Straits of Malacca indicated that the plane was still aloft and must have been commandeered for some purpose.
How does a plane just disappear leaving relatives and loved ones behind to imagine permanent separation of the human treasure on board? It is now December 2014, and I sit here trying to comprehend the pain those abandoned by MH370. What could have possibly happened to this oversized lofty twin-engine liner? If it had crashed, where are the floating cushions, teddy bears and personal effects?
The coffee houses still hum with various conspiracy theories submitted to explain a cause and the destiny of the disappearance of MH370. Sparks of intrigue fuel seething blogs multiplying so as to consume us all at the expense of global news. Conspiracy theories blossomed, but rarely addressed the underlying question of why someone would want to steal MH370.
“It’s a hijacking!” stated the media, but where are the demands? If taking the plane were for political reasons, wouldn’t communication have been made to claim responsibility for the hijacking and give a list of demands?
Perhaps the detectives training book of crime gives us a hint to the solution, where a crime requires a motive, means and opportunity. So, we know the means and the opportunity, or at least we have some information of their part of the triad, but what about the motive if it were not an accident?
So what could be the possible motive for such a crime? Follow the money. Greed and money are bloodthirsty brothers slaughtering all those in their path. Those bitten succumb to the evil twins lose their morals and will go to no ends to satiate their needs. So how does this story feed the duo?
I came to the conclusion that the plane itself was the diamond of desire, a gem essential for this tale. If sold as parts the perpetrators could potentially make hundreds of millions of dollars from this crime, as the parts are of greater value than the whole. I found out that parts for the Boeing 777 are particularly scarce at present, making this a plausible motive.
A Boeing 777 is not easy to hide and requires a long runway, so I search for abandoned runways within the fuel range of MH370. I struck oil and the tale began.
What follows is unadulterated fiction built around the scarce but publically known facts. For those still yearning to find out the fate of their loved ones, I hope that they are found safely rather than resting in the depths of the Mariana Trench.