Australian researcher, professor at the University of Griffiths in Queensland, Shane Sutterly, has opened the veil of secrecy over the so-called Bermuda Triangle. He explained the disappearance of the aircraft of the American squadron, which disappeared from radar on December 5, 1945.
Exactly 75 years later, Sutterly declared that he was sure of what happened to Flight 19, or Lost Patrol, as it was later called.
On that day, five US Navy Grumman Avenger torpedo bombers, part of a flight commanded by Lieutenant Charles Taylor, took off from Florida on a routine training mission. However, a few hours after entering the Bermuda Triangle, all 14 crew members disappeared. The rescue board sent in search also disappeared with a crew of 13. Some pilots managed to report that their compasses were not working, and navigation was almost impossible due to inclement weather.
Since the sinking of Flight 19 and until the mid-1980s, 25 small planes have disappeared during the passage of the Bermuda Triangle or, as it is called, the “Devil’s Triangle”. No debris could be found. The now known name of the water area with an area of up to four million square kilometers, which borders the southeastern coast of the United States, Bermuda and Puerto Rico, received in 1964. Then it was first used by the American writer Vincent Gaddis in the ‘Argosy‘ magazine.
Some later voiced versions about the reason for the anomalous fatality of this place included the abduction by some UFOs and even an underwater city, which allegedly drags on ships and planes.
These stories have fascinated the public. Some gave unusual explanations, claiming that something paranormal or supernatural was happening , – Sutterly quotes @ 9 News.
However, he noted, studies have shown that the proportion of ships and aircraft missing in the Bermuda Triangle is not much greater than in any other part of the ocean. Large passenger liners often pass through the Bermuda Triangle today, and none of them disappear.
To piece together what actually happened with Flight 19, you need to think critically, the researcher said. According to him, their own mistake led to the death of the crews. When it got dark and the weather changed, Commander Taylor sent the planes in the wrong direction. Similar incidents, when he got lost in the Pacific Ocean during the flight, happened before, but twice he managed to get out of trouble.
This time, the flight commander made a fatal mistake, relying not on the readings of the instruments, but on what he saw behind the window. As a result, the torpedo bombers crashed into the water and sank almost immediately. Another key factor was the inexperience of many of the Flight 19 pilots. Most of them were trainees, not properly trained for such contingencies.
The fact that the wreckage was never found is not unusual: it happens often. For example, only a small amount of wreckage was found from the missing Malaysia Airlines passenger flight MH370, which disappeared in 2014, Sutterly recalled.
However, then Taylor’s mother, who disagreed with the accusations against her son, firmly stated: if the Navy is not able to find aircraft to confirm their conclusions, then they cannot claim that they know exactly the reasons for what happened. The leadership of the US Navy was forced to give in, and a report appeared that the planes “disappeared for an unknown reason.”
Sutterly’s version practically coincides with the one voiced by the American aviation expert Peter Leff in 2007. He suggested that at some point, Taylor was convinced that he made the wrong turn, but it was too late. The flight commander did not take into account the readings of the instruments, relying on his own eyes, and, flying over the Bahamas, mistook them for Florida.
In January 2020, marine archaeologists unraveled the mystery of the SS Cotopaxi, which went missing in the Bermuda Triangle in 1925. It turned out that the ship was discovered off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida 35 years ago. However, until now the ship was considered unidentified, wrote NEWS.ru.
