Richard Quest is my single favorite news personality — I could watch him on CNN all day and never get bored. As luck would have it, he’s also an aviation correspondent (and true aviation geek), which might further contribute to how much I enjoy watching him.
Today marks the two year anniversary of the disappearance of MH370, which remains one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history. There’s no one on the news who covered the disappearance of MH370 more extensively than Richard Quest.
Fittingly, today is also the release date of Quest’s new book on the disappearance of MH370, called “The Vanishing of Flight MH370: The True Story of the Hunt for the Missing Malaysian Plane
I plan on picking up the book today and giving it a read, as the mystery of MH370 still fascinates me, and there’s no one I’d rather read about it from than Quest.
Here’s how the book is described:
Anyone who followed the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is sure to recognize the face of Richard Quest, the veteran CNN Aviation Correspondent, award-winning journalist, and anchor of CNN International’s flagship program Quest Means Business. He was front and center when the story broke, and logged hundreds of hours—more than almost any other reporter—covering its developments.
Quest’s new book, out this March on the second anniversary of the flight, is not a post-mortem on MH370. Rather, The Vanishing of Flight MH370 (Berkley Hardcover; March 8, 2016) is a revelatory behind-the-scenes look at how a reporter dealt with becoming the face of one of the decade’s biggest news stories; and how, after a selfie of him and the MH370 co-pilot surfaced, one of the industry’s most seasoned, connected correspondents found himself in the eye of the storm.
And here’s what’s addressed in the book:
- The routine flight, and cockpit photo, he took with MH370’s co-pilot just weeks before the crash—and why that trip has him convinced the pilots didn’t do it
- His controversial opinion that the Malaysian authorities handled the search-and-rescue operations well—and that, in fact, the aviation industry are the ones who botched their responsibility
- Why he stands behind CNN’s controversial news coverage
- Why Don Lemon was correct to address one viewer’s “black hole” question; and other unforgettable moments in the network’s coverage of the disappearance
- Safety issues raised by the plane’s disappearance that are yet to be resolved
This makes me especially curious to read it, because one of the most common theories is that the captain was behind the disappearance. I’m very curious to read why Quest thinks that’s not the case.
Bottom line
It’s crazy to think that it has been two years since the disappearance of MH370, which remains the greatest mystery in modern aviation. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be the family of those who were on the flight, given the lack of closure.
While Richard Quest’s new book presumably doesn’t have the answers as to what happened, I’m excited to read his analysis, which I’m sure will be insightful.
Anyone else planning on reading Richard Quest’s new book on MH370?
this aircraft is next to Round Island which is 200 miles NE of Reunion Island, its 5.30 west of the search area, i have over 200 images of debris, in an area of about 20 miles square crash zone, i have posted my images all over the world, but the authorities don't want to believe its it, as they are looking in the wrong area and they do not want to look like fools to...
this aircraft is next to Round Island which is 200 miles NE of Reunion Island, its 5.30 west of the search area, i have over 200 images of debris, in an area of about 20 miles square crash zone, i have posted my images all over the world, but the authorities don't want to believe its it, as they are looking in the wrong area and they do not want to look like fools to the world when they say they have been looking in the wrong area, so they keep blocking my photos. contact me if you would like to see it.
the searchers are looking in the wrong place and/or will never find the plane because it didn't sink to the bottom. All the debris that has been found so far is from the exterior of the plane. The plane obviously landed on the water in tact and then sank. If the plane sank to crush depth, interior debris from the plane should have been found by now so the plane either sank to a depth...
the searchers are looking in the wrong place and/or will never find the plane because it didn't sink to the bottom. All the debris that has been found so far is from the exterior of the plane. The plane obviously landed on the water in tact and then sank. If the plane sank to crush depth, interior debris from the plane should have been found by now so the plane either sank to a depth that is above crush depth for a 777 and is sitting on the ocean floor, or it sank below the surface and above the ocean floor where it continues to hover/float and therefore is being moved by ocean currents. The searchers are either missing the plane because it is moving or they are searching in water that is too deep.
"a revelatory behind-the-scenes look at how a reporter dealt with becoming the face of one of the decade’s biggest news stories"
How he dealt with becoming the face of the story? What a fu*king wanker.
Richard Quest got it completely wrong here and I have no idea why. Maybe it's the prospect of making a lot of money but I would strongly advice against buying this book.
It is pretty clear from evidence that the plane flew for hours, which route it took and where it actually disappeared. Denying the circumstantial evidence reminded me of the Germanwings tragedy where people ignored the factual evidence (plan flew straight into the...
Richard Quest got it completely wrong here and I have no idea why. Maybe it's the prospect of making a lot of money but I would strongly advice against buying this book.
It is pretty clear from evidence that the plane flew for hours, which route it took and where it actually disappeared. Denying the circumstantial evidence reminded me of the Germanwings tragedy where people ignored the factual evidence (plan flew straight into the mountain, no emergency call, slow sink rate) until the voice recorders surfaced.
The families of the people that disappeared on the flight deserve much better than what Richard Quest is doing here. Strike Richard off your list of people it's worth listening to.
@Lucky - please let us know if the book is any good. I'll probably buy it anyway, because I am a big fan of Richard Quest - part of the reason I used to like traveling internationally was so that I could watch him on CNN International.
He's definitely very experienced on the aviation beat, but I'd respectfully (and very slightly) disagree with the characterization that nobody has more experience than Richard Quest covering air...
@Lucky - please let us know if the book is any good. I'll probably buy it anyway, because I am a big fan of Richard Quest - part of the reason I used to like traveling internationally was so that I could watch him on CNN International.
He's definitely very experienced on the aviation beat, but I'd respectfully (and very slightly) disagree with the characterization that nobody has more experience than Richard Quest covering air crashes. I'd give the nod to Bob Orr of CBS, who won an Emmy for his coverage of TWA 800, and whom I always found to be extremely technically inclined, more so than Quest.
That being said, he retired from CBS last year, so if we're talking about current broadcast journalists, I'd have to agree with you.
Greg
oh my goodness. I like reading this blog but, "Richard Quest is my single favorite news personality....there’s no one in the world more knowledgeable than him, in my opinion" ... cue the sound of a record needle scratch. You must be joshing.
I couldn't read any more because it sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher in my head after that.
My guess as to MH370: an onboard fire happened (possibly caused by lithium batteries in the cargo hold) after the pilot said "Good night, Malaysia 370". Pilots turned the plane around to prepare for emergency landing, probably back to Kuala Lumpur. At this point, the pilots are busy flying the plane and trying to control the fire, so no time to communicate with air traffic control. Fire compromises the fuselage and plane depressurizes. Oxygen levels...
My guess as to MH370: an onboard fire happened (possibly caused by lithium batteries in the cargo hold) after the pilot said "Good night, Malaysia 370". Pilots turned the plane around to prepare for emergency landing, probably back to Kuala Lumpur. At this point, the pilots are busy flying the plane and trying to control the fire, so no time to communicate with air traffic control. Fire compromises the fuselage and plane depressurizes. Oxygen levels drop - fire goes out and pilots become unconscious. Plane flies by itself on auto pilot until it runs out of fuel and crashes in the Indian Ocean.
Lockerbie not Lockerbee!
In answer to the whether anybody else is planning on reading his book. Unless all the profits are going to the families - who are being royaly screwed by the current Malaysian Airlines holding company (which is denying all responsibility) - then no. And anybody else who makes, or tries to make, any profit out of this is, in my humble opinion, not somebody I'd consider a decent human being.
Let's wait...
Lockerbie not Lockerbee!
In answer to the whether anybody else is planning on reading his book. Unless all the profits are going to the families - who are being royaly screwed by the current Malaysian Airlines holding company (which is denying all responsibility) - then no. And anybody else who makes, or tries to make, any profit out of this is, in my humble opinion, not somebody I'd consider a decent human being.
Let's wait for some sort of firm evidence and then analyse it. Until then leave the poor families alone and stop all this pointless speculation.
@steve64 - I would respectfully disagree, I definitely consider him to be an expert on travel and aviation. He's hosted CNN's Businesss Traveler show since at least 2007 (maybe even earlier than that - 2007 was when I first started watching the show) and has had interviews with aircraft manufacturers, covered air shows and closely followed the aviation industry for that show and for CNN in general. He even covered the Concorde's last flight for...
@steve64 - I would respectfully disagree, I definitely consider him to be an expert on travel and aviation. He's hosted CNN's Businesss Traveler show since at least 2007 (maybe even earlier than that - 2007 was when I first started watching the show) and has had interviews with aircraft manufacturers, covered air shows and closely followed the aviation industry for that show and for CNN in general. He even covered the Concorde's last flight for CNN and has been their go-to for everything aviation because he's a true aviation geek with a journalism background. Just go to CNN.com/businesstraveller and just watch some of the segments he does on the show (look under where it says "More From The Show" to find the full segements) - he offers insightful commentary about relevant travel and aviation stories and has done so for years.
I think CNN does a bad job of highlighting this work he does on the show - it's only airs on CNNi (CNN International) so I couldn't blame you for not knowing he has that background, but I definitely would have to say he is an expert.
@lucky - I couldn't agree more!
To each his own.
Personally, I cringe every time I hear Richard Quest on TV offering his "aviation expertise". Hearing he's now written a book and trying to capitalize on this tragic event just lowers my opinion of him more.
He's a "news media spokesperson" and I'll give him credit for being very good at it ... being able to fool his audience into thinking that he's an expert on whatever CNN has thrown...
To each his own.
Personally, I cringe every time I hear Richard Quest on TV offering his "aviation expertise". Hearing he's now written a book and trying to capitalize on this tragic event just lowers my opinion of him more.
He's a "news media spokesperson" and I'll give him credit for being very good at it ... being able to fool his audience into thinking that he's an expert on whatever CNN has thrown his way. Listen once the news program throws a Pilot or someone onscreen who actually knows what they're talking about. They don't get a large time spot and aren't repeated over and over. That's because their knowledge is with the subject at hand and not how to play up to the audience. "Over sensenalization" results in selling more advertising than "matter of factly" speaking the truth. And that's the job of the "news" media in this country; sell advertising space, not to keep the public informed. :(
@ steve64 -- Nobody -- and I mean nobody -- has more experience covering air crashes than Richard Quest. He has been covering them since Lockerbie, so has a lot of context for how investigations work. Sure, he's not a pilot, so might not have the expertise of someone rated on a particular plane for specific questions, but for overall context of air crashes, there's no one in the world more knowledgable than him, in...
@ steve64 -- Nobody -- and I mean nobody -- has more experience covering air crashes than Richard Quest. He has been covering them since Lockerbie, so has a lot of context for how investigations work. Sure, he's not a pilot, so might not have the expertise of someone rated on a particular plane for specific questions, but for overall context of air crashes, there's no one in the world more knowledgable than him, in my opinion. That's no different than how a pilot might not know the first thing about air crash investigations.
I don't think the book contains anything we haven't already heard from Richard Quest on CNN.
@ iv -- Certainly respect that perspective, but don't think that's true. The news is all about 30 second soundbites and keeping things simple for the average person. But it doesn't really get very in-depth, or address the more complicated questions, in the same way a book could.
I don't need a book to tell me. A pilot turned the plane left. A pilot turned off ACARS. A pilot decided to fly the plane into the ocean. Just saved you a lot of money.
I can't believe the kinky meth head is now hawking books on amazon. Alrighty then, good luck with that.
I assume the author is donating all profits to the family, right?
Does it not bother you that so many people have rushed to cash in on this tragedy? It's been exactly two years and there's already been several books published with everyone claiming that "their version" is the truth. How long does it take to write a book, edit it and publish it? So did they start writing all these books 3 months...
I assume the author is donating all profits to the family, right?
Does it not bother you that so many people have rushed to cash in on this tragedy? It's been exactly two years and there's already been several books published with everyone claiming that "their version" is the truth. How long does it take to write a book, edit it and publish it? So did they start writing all these books 3 months after the accident?
Granted I haven't read any of them, but on the surface it just feel that people will use anything to get a book deal and make money. In other words, business as usual nowadays.
If we lose our papers they give us a hard time, they lose a plane and nary a peep. People have become complacent fools.
I was kind of hoping the bottom link would be a shameless link to the book on Amazon and it was! Should be here in a few days
Ah, CNN, who discovered that a 777 has a hard time mantaining altitude when the engines run out of fuel ;)
@ Lucky:
"...the disappearance of MH370, which remains one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history."
I'm not a native speaker of the english language, but I doubt that "greatest" is appropriate here. Perhaps "biggest" would be somewhat more sensitive.