Scientists finally solve mystery behind Bermuda Triangle disappearances

The Bermuda Triangle is one of urban legend’s favourite locations.

For decades, the section of the north Atlantic ocean has sparked fear and fascination as the alleged site, and source, of dozens of mysterious disappearances.

More than 50 ships and 20 airplanes are said to have vanished in the region, which stretches roughly from the Florida coast to Bermuda to the Greater Antilles islands.

This amounts to an average of four planes and 20 boats disappearing without a trace in the zone every year, the Week notes.

Naturally, conspiracy theories have abounded as to the causes of these tragic and unexplained instances, with aliens and even Atlantis blamed for the phenomena.

However, experts have offered more credible hypotheses and, in 2017, Australian scientist Karl Kruszelnicki claimed to have “solved” the enduring mystery once and for all.

The precise parameters of the Bermuda Triangle are disputed, but it roughly lies between Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico(iStock)

He dismissed any suggestion that the supernatural was at play here and instead pointed the finger of blame simply at human error, bad weather and high traffic volumes.

“It is close to the equator, near a wealthy part of the world, America, therefore you have a lot of traffic,” he told news.com.au.

Indeed, the Bermuda Triangle (also known as the “Devil’s Triangle”), is one of the most heavily travelled shipping lanes in the world, with vessels passing through to reach ports in the US, Europe and the Caribbean.

And whilst the disappearance of any plane or ship is a tragedy, in fact, “the number of planes that go missing in the Bermuda Triangle is the same as anywhere in the world on a percentage basis,” Dr Kruszelnicki said, quoting insurance company Lloyds of London and the US Coast Guard.

Put simply, travelling through this infamous area is no riskier than going through other busy parts of the world.

And yet, sceptics will continue to cling to more interesting theories, including that rogue waves are behind the disappearances.

Scientists put forward this hypothesis in the Channel 5 documentary ‘The Bermuda Triangle Enigma’, claiming that conditions in the zone are just right for “massive rogue waves”.

“There are storms to the south and north, which come together,” University of Southampton oceanographer Simon Boxall explained. “And if there are additional ones from Florida, it can be a potentially deadly formation of rogue waves.”

Rogue waves of this type could reach around 30 metres (100 feet) tall, which would be on par with the largest wave ever recorded – a 100-foot tsunami triggered by an earthquake and landslide in Alaska’s Lituya Bay in 1958, HuffPost reports.

None of the 14 airmen involved in Flight 19 were ever seen or heard from again(NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND/NAS Fort Lauderdale Museum)

Reports of unexplained occurrences in the Bermuda Triangle date to the mid-19th century when some ships were discovered completely abandoned for no apparent reason, while others transmitted no distress signals but were never seen or heard from again, , according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Perhaps the most famous incident linked to the area is the disappearance of Flight 19, which occurred in December 1945 and saw five US Navy Avenger torpedo bombers vanish during a training mission.

After setting off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the planes reportedly experienced compass malfunctions and became disoriented, leading to their disappearance.

And yet, Kruszelnicki dismissed suggestions, posited in 1964, that the incident proves that the Bermuda Triangle “is the scene of disappearances that total far beyond the laws of chance.”

He noted that Flight 19 took off in poor weather conditions, with 15-metre (49-foot) waves crashing down below the aircraft.

Kruszelnicki added that the only truly experienced pilot in the flight was its leader, Lieutenant Charles Taylor, and his human error may well have played a part in the tragedy.

“[He] arrived with a hangover, flew off without a watch, and had a history of getting lost and ditching his plane twice before,” the scientist explained.

Furthermore, radio transcripts recorded before the patrol vanished revealed that Lt Taylor had lost his bearings and ordered the patrol to fly east – unwittingly taking them further over the deep waters of the Atlantic.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what the experts say. For some people, legends like that of the Bermuda Triangle will always hold appeal.

After all, mystery and intrigue are a lot more enticing than the prosaic truth: that humans make mistakes and you can't trust the weather.

This article was first published on September 9, 2024

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