Image via Complex Original
With the ongoing mystery surrounding Malaysian Airlines' flight MH370, there is no doubt that we have all been reminded of the inherent dangers and risks involved with flight. Such disappearances always raise a lot of questions and generate theories. These are mysteries that everybody wants to solve, to understand. We took a look back into history and dug up 14 other flight disappearances. Perhaps by analysing past disappearances, it might be easier to understand the present disappearance and prevent future occurrences.
Amelia Earhart
When: July 2nd,1937
Where: Near Howland Island (Central Pacific Ocean)
Aircraft: Lockheed Electra
Recovered? No
Amelia Earhart earned her fame by being the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean. She disappeared with navigator, Fred Noonan, while trying to complete a flight across the world. There are lots of theories as to how she disappeared. The most reasonable theory is that she ran out of fuel and was lost at sea. The conspiracty theories include: (1) She was a spy for President Franklin Roosevelt and was captured by the Japanese, (2) she crashed into a deserted Japanese island and died there, (3) she survived the Japanese island crash and moved to New Jersey, (4) she was abducted by aliens.
US Army Air Corps B-24 D
When: April 1943
Where: North Africa
Aircraft: World War II American Bomber "Lady Be Good"
Recovered? 15 years later
The bomber began its journey from Libya and was supposed to fly a mission over Naples, Italy. As the aircraft never returned back to its base, it was assumed that Lady Be Good crashed in the Mediterranean. However, that was not actually the case. The skeleton of the plane was discovered in the North African desert in 1958. In fact, some of the crew members had actually survived the crash and had walked 100 miles in desert conditions before dying of the natural environment and lack of food or water.
Glenn Miller Disappearance
When: December 15th, 1944
Where: The English Channel
Aircraft: Noorduyn 'Norseman' C-64 (single engine monoplane)
Recovered? No
Glenn Miller was at the height of his career as a band leader and played for the Allied troops during the second World War. Miller's aircraft was traveling from England to Paris, as he was scheduled to perform for the troops stationed there. One theory suggests that Miller's plane was actually accidentally bombed by Allied forces during a conflict over the English Channel. However, according to German journalist Udo Ulfkotte who wrote for Bild Magazine, Miller actually died of a heart attack when visiting a Parisian whorehouse.
Flight 19 Incedent
When: December 5th, 1945
Where: Bermuda Triangle
Aircraft: Five Navy Avenger Planes and a PBM Mariner Sea Plane
Recovered? No
The disappearance of these six planes gave the Bermuda Triangle its terrifying reputation. The five Navy Avenger Planes radio communicated that their navigation systems weren't working and that their compasses were incorrect. Despite radio transmission efforts, the planes could not navigate to safety and were lost at sea. A PBM Mariner Sea plane was sent to rescue the distressed planes but also succumbed to the worsening weather conditions and the general choas that is the Bermuda Triangle. There was a grand total of 27 casualties during the Flight 19 mission.
Star Dust
When: August 2nd, 1947
Where: Mount Tupungato, Andes
Aircraft: British South American Airways Avro Lancastrian airliner
Recovered? Partially
The BSAA Star Dust disappeared while it was making its way from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Santiago, Chile. There was a single Morse code message sent from the plane just before it supposedly crashed and disappeared for 50 years. The message was: STENDEC. There are multiple theories about the actual meaning of the message: (1) It is an acronym for Starting En-route Descent or Severe Turbulence Encountered Now Descending Emergency Crash-landing, (2) STENDEC is an anagram of DESCENT, (3) the Morse code interpretor might have misread the code.
It was only in 1998 that two climbers found parts of the plane. The complete plane hasn't yet been recovered. It is speculated that it hit a vertical snow field when it crashed, causing an avalanche. The complete plane can only be recovered once the glacial snow melts down the mountain, thereby carrying whats left of the plane with it.
Star Tiger
When: January 30th, 1948
Where: Bermuda Triangle
Aircraft: British South American Airways' Star Tiger
Recovered? No
The BSAA Star Tiger carried 25 passengers and was flying behind a Lancastrian plane that was supposed to be on the lookout for bad weather conditions. The plane was travelling from Santa Maria, Azores to Bermuda. Due to the weather, the Star Tiger was blown off course and flew into a gale in order to reach its destination. It is speculated that a gust of wind might have blown the plane into the sea or that the pilot might have crashed into the sea out of fatigue from a long flight.
DC-3 Airliner
When: December 28th, 1948
Where: Bermuda Triangle
Aircraft: DC-3 Airliner NC16002
Recovered? No
The DC-3 Airliner was scheduled to depart from San Juan, Puerto Rico and land in Miami. Apparently, the landing gear warning light in the plane wasn't working, while the aircraft batteries were discharged. The local crew repair was told of the plane's technical issues but the flight was not delayed despite this. The most logical theory about the flight's fate was that it drifted off course and crashed into the sea.
Star Ariel
When: January 17th, 1949
Where: Somewhere between Jamaica and Bermuda
Aircraft: British South American Airways' Star Ariel
Recovered? No
There were clear skies and no turbulence on the day that the Star Ariel began her voyage from Bermuda to Jamaica. The plane seemed to vanish into thin air and the search for survivors ended on January 25th, eight days after the disappearance.
Flight 571
When: October 13th, 1972
Where: Andes Mountains
Aircraft: Uruguayan Air Force flight 571
Recovered? Yes, with survivors
The flight was bound for Santiago, Chile from Uruguay. There were 45 people on the unlucky flight. Rescue teams found 16 survivors of the flight after a grand total of 72 days. The survivors had turned to cannibalism in order to survive, eating flesh from the frozen, preserved bodies of the dead. The rescue team was able to be assembled to the crash site only after two survivors decided to hike the Andes Mountains in search of help.
Piper Navajo Solo
When: November 3rd, 1978
Where: Bermuda Triangle
Aircraft: Piper Navajo
Recovered? No
This is really an incredible disappearance -- the plane was within one mile of the landing strip when it seemed to vanish into thin air and was never heard from again. Pilot Irving Rivers left St. Croix and was making a solo flight to St. Thomas. He was an experienced pilot, working for Eastern Caribbean Airways. The air traffic controller at St. Thomas had spotted the lights of Rivers' aircraft and had even cleared the plane to land. After another plane departed from St. Thomas, the air traffic controller could no longer spot Rivers' plane and the aircraft had disappeared on the radar.
Egypt Air 990
When: October 31st, 1991
Where: Atlantic Ocean
Aircraft: Boeing 767
Recovered? Yes
Apparently, the Egypt Air 990 crash was deliberate. Reportedly, the airline was going to release the co-pilot of the flight, Gameel El-Batouty, for sexual misconduct. The radio transmissions reveal that Batouty put the plane into a dive and cut the engines when the pilot was in the bathroom. By the time the chief pilot had returned to the cockpit, it was too late to recover from the vertical dive.
Steve Fossett's Bellanca Super Decathalon
When: September 3rd, 2007
Where: Inyo National Forest, Southern California
Aircraft: Bellanca 8KCAB-180
Recovered? One year later
Steve Fossett was the first person to fly around the world without stopping for refueling. On the day of his disappearance, Fossett began his flight from northern Nevada and was never heard from again. About a year later, a hiker in the national park discovered the remains of Fossett's plane. Later, Fossett's ID was found and DNA testing confirmed that he had died in the crash.
Air France Flight 447
When: June 1st, 2009
Where: Atlantic Ocean
Aircraft: Airbus A330
Recovered? Yes
Air France flight 447 flew into stormy weather and the flight sensors developed ice, thereby shutting down the autopilot system. The pilots reacted poorly to the malfunction in the system and were therefore unable to recover from the stall that sent the plane into the sea. It took five days before anybody found any sort of wreckage, discovering the black boxes underwater.
Missoni's Private Plane
When: January 4th, 2013
Where: Gran Roque Island
Aircraft: Cessna 402 jet
Recovered? Six months later
Missoni was known for founding a chic Italian fashion business. His jet was scheduled to leave Los Roques in the Caribbean, heading towards Caracas. There were six people on board Missoni's jet, including Missoni and his wife, along with the pilot and co-pilot. Certain aircraft wreckage discovered six months later confirmed the Missoni's fate as DNA evidence indicate that all six had perished in the crash.