The Bermuda Triangle is one of the most popular places in urban legends. For decades, this region of the North Atlantic has aroused fear and curiosity for being the supposed place and origin of dozens of mysterious disappearances. It is said that more than 50 ships and 20 planes have disappeared in an area that extends from the coast of Florida to Bermuda and the Greater Antilles.
Naturally, there are many conspiracy theories about the causes of these tragic and unexplained cases, with aliens and even Atlantis being blamed for the phenomenon. However, experts have come up with more credible theories, and in 2017, Australian scientist Karl Kruszelnicki claimed to have “solved” this persistent mystery once and for all. He dismissed any suggestion of supernatural intervention and instead blamed human error, bad weather and heavy traffic.
“It’s close to the equator, close to a rich part of the world, the Americas, so there’s a lot of transport,” he told news.com.au.
In fact, the Bermuda Triangle (also known as the “Devil’s Triangle”) is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, serving ships arriving at ports in the United States, Europe and the Pacific Caribbean. While the loss of an aircraft or ship is a tragedy, in reality, “the number of aircraft lost in the Devil’s Triangle is the same as anywhere else in the world – proportionally about 100,” Dr. Kruszelnicki said, citing the insurance company Lloyds of London and the U.S. Coast Guard. Simply put, traveling through this notorious zone is no more dangerous than traveling to other busy locations around the world.
However, skeptics will continue to cling to more interesting theories, including that strong waves were responsible for the disappearance. Scientists put forward this hypothesis in the Channel 5 documentary “The Bermuda Triangle Enigma,” claiming that conditions in the area are perfectly suited for “giant rogue waves.” According to Encyclopedia Britannica, reports of unexplained phenomena in the Devil’s Triangle date back to the mid-19th century, when several ships were discovered completely abandoned for no apparent reason, while others failed to send out a distress signal and were never seen or heard from again.
However, Kruszelnicki rejected suggestions made in 1964 that the incident proved that the Bermuda Triangle “is the scene of disappearances that go far beyond the realm of chance.”
He said Flight 19 took off in bad weather conditions, with 50-foot-high waves crashing beneath the plane. Kruszelnicki added that the only truly experienced pilot on the flight was the commander, Lt. Charles Taylor, and that human error could have played a role in the tragedy.
