Demystifying the Bermuda Triangle

Matilda Omonaiye/

Over the years, scientists and conspiracy theorist alike have drummed up every imaginable scenario to explain the mysterious disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle.
The region, which covers a patch of sea between Florida, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda, is thought to have claimed dozens of ships and planes in the last century alone, and hundreds of lives.
Now, a scientist in Australia has suggested that human error is the “simple” explanation behind the phenomena.
Speaking to News.com.au, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki reiterated what many experts, including the US Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have insisted on over the years.
Rather than being a region where supernatural or even unusual environmental forces may be at play, posing a threat to travelers, he says the Bermuda Triangle is unremarkable in the number of disappearances it has seen.
“According to Lloyds of London and the US coast guard, the number of planes that go missing in the Bermuda Triangle is the same as anywhere in the world on a percentage basis,” Kruszelnicki told the website.
“It is close to the equator, near a wealthy part of the world, America, therefore you have a lot of traffic,” he further observed.
Kruszelnicki also refers to the historic example of the disappearance of the five US TBM Avenger Torpedo Bombers from Flight 19 in 1945, followed by the subsequent disappearance of the seaplane that was sent out to find them.
No evidence of the wreckage or crew have ever been found.
But, despite claims that mysterious circumstances may have been behind this, and other disappearances, Kruszelnicki notes that the radio transcripts from that night show that multiple junior pilots recommended flying toward the west.
The pilot, Lieutenant Charles Taylor, instead flew east.
He also notes that the search plane did not go missing, but was actually “seen to blow up”.
“There was one experienced guy, the rest were inexperienced. It wasn’t fine weather, there were 15 meter waves,” Kruszelnicki told News.com.au, suggesting the pilot was to blame.
Taylor “arrived with a hangover, flew off without a watch, and had a history of getting lost and ditching his plane twice before,” he further noted.
Over the years, scientists around the world have offered similar insight on the disappearances observed in the region, also known as the Devil’s Triangle.
The US Coast Guard even refers to it as a “mythical geographic area.”
“The Coast Guard does not recognize the existence of the so-called Bermuda Triangle as a geographic area of specific hazard to ships or planes,” according to the USCG website.
“No extraordinary factors have ever been identified,” the website added.
Similarly, the NOAA says the phenomena in the Bermuda Triangle mirrors that in other parts of the world with the same degree of air and sea traffic.
“The ocean has always been a mysterious place to humans, and when foul weather or poor navigation is involved, it can be a very deadly place,” says the NOAA.
It added: “This is true all over the world. There is no evidence that mysterious disappearances occur with any greater frequency in the Bermuda Triangle than in any other large, well-traveled area of the ocean.”