Q&A on the News

Q: Did a squadron of planes disappear in the Bermuda Triangle in the 1940s? I seemed to remember that another plane disappeared as part of the search. Am I remembering that right? What are other some of the other significant disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle?

—Eddie Webster, Douglasville

A: Flight 19, a squadron of five Navy bombers with 14 crewmen, disappeared on Dec. 5, 1945, sparking a search in the area of what later became known as the Bermuda Triangle. Many other flights and ships have disappeared in the area that extends from Miami to Bermuda to Puerto Rico and back to Miami. Those include a plane, designated as Training 49, that was part of the search team for Flight 19. The plane, which had 13 crewmen, was never seen again, but a nearby ship reported that it saw an explosion and found oil and wreckage on the surface. The Navy initially said that confusion from a possible compass malfunction had caused Flight 19 to head away from the Florida coast instead of toward it, but the finding later was changed to unknown causes, according to "The Bermuda Triangle: Unsolved Mysteries." Two British South American Airways planes disappeared without a trace within a year of each other. The Star Tiger was lost with 31 people on board on Jan. 30, 1948, and the Star Ariel went down with 20 people on Jan. 17, 1949. The USS Cyclops, which disappeared on March 4, 1918, with 306 crew and passengers, is one of many ships that have vanished under mysterious circumstances in an area that the Navy has reported having strong currents and sudden storms.