A Brief History
Today, the Bermuda Triangle is a popular, yet questionable area. It has been known for decades, after the disappearance of multiple people and ships over the years. Even nowadays, there are still mysteries surrounding the area.
But what if such a mystery would happen to you? What if you order something, let us say a gun from across the ocean, and the ship transporting it travels across the Bermuda Triangle and gets lost. After all, you would not suspect that your new BBTac M62 will be the one to get lost in the area, of all things. But anything can happen in this suspicious place.
But as this article is about to reveal, there are many incidents that took place in the Bermuda Triangle over the years. Many people have disappeared and even died after traveling in the area. Here are some of the most incredible deaths that occurred in the Bermuda Triangle.
Digging Deeper
Flight 19
Flight 19 has to be one of the most popular incidents from the Bermuda Triangle. It happened in December 1945 when five TBH Avenger torpedo bombers took a plane for their exercise of three hours. What they had to do is fly towards east from the Florida coast and make bombing runs at Hens and Chickens Shoals. Then, they had to turn north and do the same over Grand Bahama Island, after which they could turn southwest and go back.
Charles C. Taylor was the leader of the flight. Although the rest of the flights occurred without incidents, something happened with Flight 19. Once the patrol turned north after completing the first part of the exercise, Taylor noticed that the compass was not working properly and that they were going in the wrong direction.
They gave a report over the radio, saying that they were lost, and Navy flight instructor Robert F. Cox was the one overhearing the report. He informed the Air Station which then contacted Taylor, asking if there was any need for help. Taylor said “I’m over land, but it’s broken. I’m sure I’m in the Keys, but I don’t know how far down.”
Despite being given indications, the radio transmissions became weaker as time passed by, and there were high chances of the planes crashing into the ocean. After the communication was replaced by a buzz of static, the Navy started searching for them. They sent some PBM Mariner flying boats, but they soon vanished off the radar. It is speculated that the flying boats exploded. The 27 crewmen were never found.
Donald Crowhurst
This incident took place in 1969 after businessman Donald Crowhurst took a triple-hulled boat to sail from London on October 31, 1968. The boat had some safety innovations added by Crowhurst himself, as he was planning to win the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, but he was not such an experienced sailor. So, he hired an aggressive publicist and was also backed by a demanding investor, but his journey was full of problems due to the boat, and he considered returning. But on the way back, he discovered that his biggest competitor had sunk, and as he didn’t want his deceptions to be discovered, he jumped overboard. He drowned himself. The Teignmouth Electron was found in July 1969.
Joshua Slocum
Joshua Slocum was known as the first man to sail by himself around the world. Aside from that, he was considered one of the best sailors back then. He rebuilt an old fishing boat and created the Spray. Since he was experienced, nobody expected him to get lost, but this is exactly what happened. After leaving the East Coast to go towards Grand Cayman, he disappeared. Nobody found anything about him, and in 1924 he was declared legally dead.
Some people are unsure if he died in the Bermuda Triangle or not, though.
DC-3 Airliner NC16002
On December 28, 1948, there were 3 crew members and 29 passengers inside the Airborne Transport DC-3 airliner. The flight took off from San Juan to Miami. It seems that there were some issues with the batteries that were discharged and the warning light that was malfunctioning. But pilot Robert Linquist did not want to make any delays for reparations.
During the night, Miami air traffic controllers could hear dome transmissions, with one of the reports saying they were 50 miles south of Miami, but the transmission was reported from New Orleans, so the aircraft may have drifted off its course. Nobody knows what happened to the flight, as the plane and passengers were never found.
Star Tiger
Back in 1948, a plane took a flight from England to Bermuda. It was the Tudor IV plane of the British South American Airways. Apparently, Captain B.W. McMillan, the commander of the Star Tiger, was expecting to arrive in Bermuda at 5 A.M; however, something happened and the plane never arrived.
According to some reports, the faulty heater of the aircraft may have failed in the meantime, as well as a compass. Since the pilot may have tried to fly at a lower altitude to keep warmer temperatures, the fuel would’ve been burnt faster. As such, there was almost no time left for the pilot to give signals that they needed help. The chances are that the flight crashed into the sea. What is sure is that McMillan and all the other 31 people in the plane were never heard from again.
Final Thoughts
There are indeed many mysteries surrounding the Bermuda Triangle, and for a long time, people have tried finding answers. Scientists have tried coming with logical reasons why there are such incidents in the area, while theorists have been speculating that there may even be things such as aliens in the triangle. Whichever the reason is, the lives lost there will, sadly, never be recovered.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Kobasa, Paul and Elizabeth Noll. The Bermuda Triangle. Black Rabbit, 2017.
The featured image in this article, a map by -Majestic- (talk) of the Bermuda Triangle, has been released into the public domain worldwide by the copyright holder of this work.
