The Bermuda Triangle, a region of the North Atlantic Ocean, has long been associated with unexplained disappearances of ships, planes, and other vessels. The term "Bermuda Triangle" was popularized in the 1960s by a magazine article and later by the science fiction film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."
The article highlighted five separate incidents of disappearances between 1945 and 1952, involving a boat, nine planes, and 135 civilians and crewmen. The author did not provide a cause for these disappearances, leading to speculation and a subsequent mystery.
The magazine Argosy featured a cover with the caption "Lost in The Bermuda Triangle" in a 1964 issue, but the article inside did not provide a scientific analysis of the disappearances. The author's selection of the triangular shape was arbitrary, and the cover did not imply a scientifically sound analysis.
One of the oldest stories associated with the Bermuda Triangle is the first transatlantic voyage by Christopher Columbus in 1492. During this journey, the crew observed a fireball, their compasses malfunctioned, and a strange light appeared to be suspended above the ocean surface. However, these events occurred in the North Atlantic, not the Bermuda Triangle.
Flight 19, featured in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," is one of the most famous disappearances connected to the Bermuda Triangle. It involved a squadron of five planes that departed a Naval Air Station in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1945. The squadron's compasses malfunctioned, and they lost contact with the planes after about two hours. The planes and their crew were never found.
The Star Ariel, a plane that departed Bermuda for Kingston, Jamaica, in 1949, also disappeared without a trace. The crew was highly experienced, and the plane was in working condition prior to departure. The investigation into the disappearance failed to determine a probable cause due to a lack of evidence.
The Carroll A. Deering, a five-masted sailing vessel, disappeared in January 1921 while sailing from Barbados to Norfolk, Virginia. The ship was found abandoned in the Diamond Shoals area of North Carolina, with the crew and key navigational equipment missing. A message in a bottle found near the wreckage suggested that the crew might have fallen victim to piracy.
Despite the high number of disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle, the reasons for these disappearances vary greatly. Some vanishings occur during a storm, others when the sky is clear. Some ships and planes are new, others are many decades old. The fundamental aspect of the Bermuda Triangle is that these incidents can be correlated, yet each disappearance could not be more different.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. In 1950, an article was published in multiple American newspapers highlighting numerous unexplained disappearances between the coast of Florida and the island of Bermuda.
2. The article detailed five separate incidents over the previous half-decade in which 1 boat, 9 planes, and 135 civilians and crewmen vanished without a trace.
3. In 1952, a magazine specializing in the paranormal outlined the region of interest as a triangle between the US state of Florida, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda.
4. The author of the magazine article made no attempt to justify their selection of this shape.
5. A 1964 issue of the American pulp fiction magazine Argosy featured a cover with the caption "Lost in The Bermuda Triangle".
6. The article inside the magazine covered many of the same vanishments as the previous two, but with a severely embellished narrative.
7. One of the oldest stories said to exemplify the mysterious qualities of The Bermuda Triangle is that of the first transatlantic voyage by Christopher Columbus in 1492.
8. Columbus's crew observed a fireball, their compasses malfunctioned, and a strange light seemed to be suspended above the ocean surface.
9. A meteor would be a more likely explanation for the fireball than aliens or UFOs.
10. Shooting stars are the most common in September due to the orbit and tilt of the Earth, and this sighting occurred on September 15th.
11. On September 17th, the crew noticed their compasses misaligned with the North Star, which is due to an effect known as magnetic declination.
12. The needle in a compass aligns with magnetic north, while the North Star aligns with true north.
13. However, neither of these two events occurred anywhere near The Bermuda Triangle but in the middle of the North Atlantic.
14. The strange light was indeed sighted within the confines of The Triangle.
15. Columbus described the light as "a small wax candle that rose and lifted up".
16. He believed it to be an indication of land and never described it as inexplicable.
17. A crewman first caught sight of the American continent mere hours after observing the light, supporting Columbus's suspicion that the light emanated from a nearby landmass.
18. Flight 19, a squadron of five planes, disappeared on December 5, 1945, during a routine navigation exercise.
19. The squadron was piloted by four students and one flight instructor, Charles Taylor.
20. Taylor became disoriented and confused the islands in the Bahamas for the islands in the Florida Keys.
21. Communications between the five planes were intercepted, and they could be heard arguing over directions and bearings.
22. The signal between the towers and Flight 19 gradually weakened, and it became increasingly difficult to maintain a stable line of communication.
23. A flying boat, with designation ST-49, was dispatched to the location of Flight 19 but disappeared after a routine transmission.
24. The last transmission from Flight 19 was a failed attempt by one plane to contact another.
25. Flight 19 was never seen or heard from again, and all 27 airmen aboard sank into the ocean.
26. The Star Ariel, a plane, departed Bermuda for Kingston, Jamaica, on January 17, 1949, but was never seen or heard from again.
27. There was no evidence of a crash, no distress call was received, and the weather was excellent for the entire duration of the flight.
28. The pilot and crew were highly experienced and had flown this specific route many times before.
29. The plane was in working condition prior to departure.
30. A succeeding investigation failed to determine a probable cause due to a lack of evidence.
31. The Star Tiger, a sister plane, vanished under similar circumstances the year before.
32. The Carroll A. Deering, a five-masted sailing vessel, departed Barbados on January 9, 1921, and set sail for Norfolk, Virginia.
33. The ship was sighted by a lightship near the coast of North Carolina, and the lightship's engineer took a photograph as it passed by.
34. The person at the helm hailed the lightship and used a megaphone to inform them that they had lost both their anchors.
35. The ship then progressed up the coast towards Norfolk but never arrived.
36. Two days after the sighting by the lightship, the Deering was located by the Coast Guard, and it had run aground in an area known as the Diamond Shoals.
37. The ship appeared to have been abandoned, and the crew's personal belongings, key navigational equipment, and documents were found on board.
38. The steering wheel and other equipment had been intentionally destroyed with a sledgehammer.
39. There was no sign of the 11 crewmen, and they were never seen or heard from again.
40. A message in a bottle was discovered a few months later, which read: "Deering captured by oil burning ship, something like a chaser."
41. However, handwriting experts proved that the message was a hoax written by the person who discovered it.
42. There is evidence to suggest that a mutiny took place on the Deering.
43. The US State Department issued a statement at the time, saying "There is every suspicion of foul play."
44. The person who hailed the lightship was not the captain, but a red-headed man with a Scandinavian accent.
45. The relationship between the captain and the crew was strenuous, and the captain was concerned that the crew might turn on him.
46. The first mate had requested a ship of his own and boasted that he would "get the captain" before they reached their destination.
47. The first mate was arrested but later bailed out by the captain himself.
48. A large steamship painted black was seen sailing in the wake of the Deering, and when hailed by the lightship, the crewmen unfurled a canvas to cover the ship's nameplate before speeding away.
49. The ship was speculated to be the American steamship SS Hewitt, which vanished around the same time.
50. The Bermuda Triangle is not marked on publicly available maps and nautical charts.
51. The US Coast Guard does not warn the public about the alleged dangers of the Bermuda Triangle.
52. The region is a highly trafficked area of the ocean, with many ships and planes passing through it every day.
53. The amount of vanishments in a given area is largely dependent on factors such as the amount of traffic, the frequency of adverse meteorological phenomena, and the presence of powerful oceanic currents.
54. The Bermuda Triangle ticks all three boxes, with a high volume of traffic, frequent hurricanes and storms, and the presence of the Gulf Stream.
55. The fundamental aspect of the Bermuda Triangle is that these incidents can be correlated, yet each disappearance is unique and cannot be explained by a single cause.
56. Some vanishments occur during a storm, while others occur when the sky is clear.
57. Some occur when the sea is turbulent, while others occur when the sea is calm.
58. Probable causes include mechanical failure, explosions, human error, sabotage, fuel starvation, inexperience, piracy, mutiny, etc.
59. Some ships and planes are brand new, while others are many decades old.
60. Some are extremely large, while others are tiny.
61. Bodies, debris, and wreckage can be recovered at times, while other times they cannot.
62. A distress signal is sometimes transceived, while other times it is not.
63. The Bermuda Triangle involves every type of vessel and every type of aircraft.
64. They can be traveling at any speed, in any direction, at any altitude, with any number of passengers, for any amount of time, for any reason.