Bermuda Triangle Plane Mysteries Solved

Multiple planes and ships went missing in the area between Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rico in the 1940s, leading to the legend of the Bermuda Triangle. Most of the disappearances are still unexplained, but BBC journalist Tom Mangold has managed to recreate plausible conditions which explain two of the plane disappearances.

The two planes disappeared in 1948 and 1949 respectively, killing 51 passengers and crew. At the time, the routes in the Bermuda region were extremely dangerous, as the planes barely carried enough fuel to reach their destinations. The flight to Bermuda from the Azores, where planes from Europe had to refuel, was the longest non-stop commercial overseas flight in the world. The route operator, British South American Airways, had experienced 11 serious accidents in three years on the route.

The solved mysteries include one plane flying too low and burning too much fuel, therefore crashing into the ocean, as well as one plane exploding due to a leaky heater. More of the mysteries are unveied in BBCs radio series Inside the Bermuda Triangle - The Mysteries Solved aired on BBC Radio 10, starting Monday September 14th.