Bermuda Triangle myths, checked
Things everyone “knows” about the Triangle, and what the records say.
MythShips and planes vanish there more often than anywhere else.
FactNOAA says there is no evidence that mysterious disappearances happen more often in the Bermuda Triangle than in any other large, busy area of ocean. NOAA
MythThe Bermuda Triangle has an official boundary.
FactThere are no official maps of its boundaries, and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names doesn’t recognise “Bermuda Triangle” as an official name. NOAA Its edges are not universally agreed. Roughly, it is a triangle reaching from the Atlantic coast of Florida to Bermuda to the Greater Antilles. Britannica
MythFlight 19’s compasses were scrambled by a mysterious force.
FactIn fact he was well northeast of Fort Lauderdale, not southwest as he thought. National Archives Kusche, who flew the route himself, says parts of the small islands of the northern Bahamas do look like some of the Florida Keys. Skeptical Inquirer Kusche, a pilot, argues the opposite: where the difference between true and magnetic north is near zero, navigation is simpler, because adjusting for zero is easy. Skeptical Inquirer
MythFlight 19 radioed about “white water” and strange skies.
FactKusche traced fictionalised, dramatised radio messages back to a 1962 American Legion Magazine article by Allan W. Eckert; later writers attributed them to Flight 19. Skeptical Inquirer The Navy’s historian says numerous accounts have embellished the story, and sticks to the official record. NHHC H-Gram
MythNobody knows what happened to the search plane.
FactAt 19:50 the tanker Gaines Mills saw a burst of flames, apparently an explosion, with flames 100 feet high. NHHC H-Gram The carrier USS Solomons was tracking the Mariner on radar when it suddenly vanished from the screen at the same position. NHHC H-Gram The Navy concluded that a faulty fuel system caused the Mariner to explode. National Archives
MythEvery Triangle mystery happened inside the Triangle.
FactLarry Kusche found that roughly half of the so-called unsolved mysteries happened far from the Triangle, some thousands of miles away. Skeptical Inquirer One ship found dismasted and lying on its side in the Pacific Ocean had been counted as a Triangle mystery. Skeptical Inquirer
MythShips were found with only a canary aboard, or warm meals on the table.
FactKusche found no credible evidence for the oft-repeated tales of a ship with only a canary on board, or still-warm meals on the table. Skeptical Inquirer
MythScientists are baffled.
FactBritannica says geophysical and environmental factors are the most likely cause. Britannica NOAA says environmental factors could explain many, if not most, of the disappearances. NOAA
MythThe seaweed of the Sargasso Sea traps ships.
FactEarly sailors feared getting tangled in the seaweed. Britannica says that fear was unfounded. Britannica
MythFlight 19 was a combat patrol.
FactIt is often called the “Lost Patrol”, but Flight 19 was a routine training mission. NHHC H-Gram
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