No stretch of open ocean holds more mystery than the infamous Bermuda Triangle. This conditional zone is located inside the Atlantic Ocean between Puerto Rico, Bermuda and the US state of Florida. Over the course of several decades, the Bermuda Triangle has earned itself a bad reputation, triggered mainly by the stories of sailors and aviators. Is this aquatic zone really fraught with danger, or is the sinister fame deserved by controversial facts? Let's try to figure it out.
Rumors began with a disappeared squadron
The area has been linked to a number of mysterious disappearances, but ominous rumors began following the disappearance of a US Air Force squadron. In 1945, five aircraft at once disappeared without a trace, leaving the training base. So far, no answer has been found to the simple question: what happened to the aircraft carriers? The wreckage of the equipment and the bodies of the pilots were never found. Since then, this and other similar stories have been a topic of speculation in the media. People express a lot of assumptions, among which there are the most fantastic. Someone thinks that the pilots could have been abducted by aliens, while others are sure of the "tricks" of electromagnetic and gravitational fields.
What do the US Coast Guard aviation security archives say?
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But if you look at the records stored in the archives of the Coast Guard, you can trace a clear pattern. Most of the disappearances can be attributed to thunderstorm activity. Consequently, any vehicles plying through the Bermuda Triangle are in a high-risk area. It is worth noting that a review of aviation and ship losses in this area reveals only the physical reasons for the disappearance. This means that the interference of supernatural forces is completely excluded. These can be normal oceanic processes or the notorious human factor. Scientifically speaking, the Bermuda Triangle is no more mysterious, suspicious or dangerous than any other open ocean area.
What happens at depth?
Seas cover approximately 70 percent of the planet's surface. The peak depth of the underwater world is 11 kilometers. On average, ocean liners run 3.7 kilometers from the seabed. If we add a huge body of water together, then we get a giant pool with a volume of 1338 cubic kilometers. It is not surprising that tiny ships and airplanes can disappear at some point without a trace.
Enterprising reporter
With the light hand of reporter Vincent Gaddis, almost 1.3 million square kilometers of water, located southeast of the Atlantic coast of the United States, was dubbed the Bermuda Triangle. The journalist came up with a flashy title for an article that was published in Argosy magazine. The note described the unexplained disappearances of five US Navy aircraft with 14 crew members on board. Another incident that took place shortly after the mysterious events sparked public interest. In search of the missing squadron, Flight 19 was sent, which also disappeared without a trace.
Vincent Gaddis linked these two events together and hastened to christen the mysterious zone anomalous. In an interview given to a reporter by US Navy veteran Howard L. Rosenberg, nothing was clear. According to the military, the pilots of Flight 19 could get lost, and then the methane caused the plane to crash. The aircraft carrier could explode, and the debris could disintegrate from the impact and sink. If one of the crew members was able to survive the disaster, then the water would become his last refuge, because the temperature of the ocean surface was not compatible with life. In other words, there were no prerequisites for rescuing the crew of Flight 19.
In addition, experts call the models of rescue aircraft nothing more than flying gas tanks. They ignite so quickly that, more likely, the crew members met their death while on board. ABOUT
High traffic area
If we compare the number of wrecks in the waters of the Atlantic with other areas with high traffic, then there will be no peculiarities. According to statistics, the mysterious disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle are quite comparable to similar cases on other waterways. The only feature of this zone is the highest traffic. It is logical that the largest number of accidents and crashes can happen here. The more planes and ships pass here, the more likely it is that some of them will be in trouble.
The whims of the elements
Tropical storms and hurricanes are common in this area of the Atlantic. The capricious nature of the sea element could explain the disappearances that have occurred here over the years. Several decades ago, seagoing ships set sail almost at random. Crews these days have access to more accurate weather reports, including unexpected and dramatic changes in weather. This means that there must be fewer and fewer mysterious disappearances.
Why can't you find ship wrecks?
Brief but severe thunderstorms, otherwise known as meso-meteorological storms, also occur at sea without warning. They are directly involved in the destruction of ships. The Caribbean Sea is dotted with numerous islands creating shallow waters. In the event that the vessel is large, the terrain feature can become an insurmountable problem. In the event of a shipwreck, sharks and barracudas instantly deal with the bodies of the crew members. The wreck is carried away by the fast current of the Gulf Stream. It is not possible to find any evidence of the very fact of the disaster even in hot pursuit. Therefore, the search and rescue expeditions that followed are returning back to the shore without news.
The ocean has always been mysterious, alluring, but so dangerous for people. When bad weather strikes or ships are equipped with a poor navigation system, the deep sea can be a bad place. According to officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there is no evidence that the mysterious disappearances are taking place for the most part in the Bermuda Triangle. Any other well-traversed area of the ocean is fraught with no less dangers.
Another theory
Nevertheless, superstition and prejudice continue to hover with surprising force around the Bermuda Triangle. Some persistent stereotypes are supported by the latest geological discoveries. In March 2015, researchers examined in detail the underwater craters in the Barents Sea, off the coast of Norway. Scientists have suggested that such formations could be caused by methane explosions released after the end of the last Ice Age about 11,700 years ago.
But what if there is something similar off the coast of the Caribbean? However, scientists dealing with this issue have already rushed to refute this version. According to experts, methane rising from the seabed is a fairly common phenomenon in world practice. But for a huge gas funnel to form, which will instantly pull the ship to the bottom, a sharp climate change is necessary.
Inga Kaisina