| − | [[Flight 19]] was a training flight of five U.S. Navy [[TBM Avenger]] bombers which left Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station, Florida on December 5, 1945, and went missing several hours later while over the Atlantic. The impression given is that the flight encountered unusual phenomena and anomalous compass readings, and that the flight took place on a calm day, under the leadership of an experienced pilot, Lieutenant Charles Carroll Taylor. Adding to the intrigue is that the Navy's report of the accident was ascribed to "causes or reasons unknown". Further compounding the mystery was the disappearance of a Martin Mariner search plane which went out in search of the flight. The total number of men lost in the six planes was 27. | + | [[Flight 19]] was a training flight of five U.S. Navy [[TBM Avenger]] bombers which left Fort Lauderdale Naval Air Station, Florida on December 5, 1945, and went missing several hours later while over the Atlantic. The impression given is that the flight encountered unusual phenomena and anomalous compass readings, and that the flight took place on a calm day, under the leadership of an experienced pilot, Lieutenant Charles Carroll Taylor. Adding to the intrigue is that the Navy's report of the accident was ascribed to "causes or reasons unknown". Further compounding the mystery was a Martin Mariner search plane which went out in search of the flight and vanished from radar screens some twenty minutes after taking off. The total number of men lost in the six planes was 27. |
| | While the basic facts of this version of the story are essentially accurate, some important details are missing. The weather was becoming stormy by the end of the incident; Only Lt. Taylor had any significant flying time, but was not familiar with the south Florida area, and had a history of getting lost in flight, doing so three times in the Pacific during [[World War II]] and forced to ditch his planes twice. Naval reports and written recordings of the conversations between LT Taylor, the other pilots of Flight 19, and the control tower do not indicate the unusual or paranormal problems cited by the popular writers of the Triangle. It was this incident, plus the later incidents involving the aircraft Star Tiger and Star Ariel, that led to the creation of the Bermuda Triangle as a popular, paranormal story. | | While the basic facts of this version of the story are essentially accurate, some important details are missing. The weather was becoming stormy by the end of the incident; Only Lt. Taylor had any significant flying time, but was not familiar with the south Florida area, and had a history of getting lost in flight, doing so three times in the Pacific during [[World War II]] and forced to ditch his planes twice. Naval reports and written recordings of the conversations between LT Taylor, the other pilots of Flight 19, and the control tower do not indicate the unusual or paranormal problems cited by the popular writers of the Triangle. It was this incident, plus the later incidents involving the aircraft Star Tiger and Star Ariel, that led to the creation of the Bermuda Triangle as a popular, paranormal story. |