1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,992 2 00:00:00,992 --> 00:00:03,968 [MUSIC PLAYING] 3 00:00:03,968 --> 00:00:19,360 4 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,170 NARRATOR: Did this plane's pilot escape unknown forces 5 00:00:22,170 --> 00:00:23,315 in the Devil's Triangle? 6 00:00:23,315 --> 00:00:26,935 7 00:00:26,935 --> 00:00:29,450 Can these submarine scientists explain 8 00:00:29,450 --> 00:00:32,717 the fate of sailors and their ships that disappear there? 9 00:00:32,717 --> 00:00:35,990 10 00:00:35,990 --> 00:00:39,740 Five US Navy planes like these never came home. 11 00:00:39,740 --> 00:00:43,180 Where they victims of some unearthly power? 12 00:00:43,180 --> 00:00:45,690 Mysteries from the files of Arthur C. Clarke, 13 00:00:45,690 --> 00:00:50,260 author of "2001" and inventor of the communication satellite. 14 00:00:50,260 --> 00:00:53,320 Now in retreat in Sri Lanka, he ponders the riddles 15 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:55,670 at this and other worlds. 16 00:00:55,670 --> 00:00:58,140 [MUSIC PLAYING] 17 00:00:58,140 --> 00:01:26,310 18 00:01:26,310 --> 00:01:28,305 These fisherman land their catch 19 00:01:28,305 --> 00:01:32,810 at dawn every morning near my beach villa in Sri Lanka. 20 00:01:32,810 --> 00:01:35,060 They know that the Indian Ocean holds 21 00:01:35,060 --> 00:01:39,720 countless dangers, for even the most experienced seafarers. 22 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:43,180 A chance wave or storm could wreck their flimsy boats 23 00:01:43,180 --> 00:01:46,180 and claim them at any moment. 24 00:01:46,180 --> 00:01:49,560 According to some writers, these treacherous seas 25 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:53,000 hold few dangers compared to the area of the Atlantic 26 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,200 between Bermuda and Florida. 27 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:58,660 This is the notorious Bermuda Triangle. 28 00:01:58,660 --> 00:02:02,260 Since 1945, over 100 ships and planes 29 00:02:02,260 --> 00:02:04,775 are said to have vanished there, not 30 00:02:04,775 --> 00:02:08,030 only without trace, but often in mysterious circumstances. 31 00:02:08,030 --> 00:02:12,080 32 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:13,580 NARRATOR: Businessman Bruce Gernon 33 00:02:13,580 --> 00:02:16,290 commutes all over Florida in his private plane. 34 00:02:16,290 --> 00:02:19,180 35 00:02:19,180 --> 00:02:22,680 There's one flight he'll never forget. 36 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:25,840 I encountered this cloud out over the Bahama bank 37 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:29,231 and I saw this tremendous buildup of electricity 38 00:02:29,231 --> 00:02:29,930 inside it. 39 00:02:29,930 --> 00:02:33,520 The deeper I got, the more electricity I could see. 40 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:35,290 And they weren't lightning bolts, 41 00:02:35,290 --> 00:02:37,860 they were just bright, pure white flashes. 42 00:02:37,860 --> 00:02:44,890 43 00:02:44,890 --> 00:02:46,710 NARRATOR: Gernon found himself flying along 44 00:02:46,710 --> 00:02:48,970 a tunnel in the strange cloud. 45 00:02:48,970 --> 00:02:53,010 It was just wide enough for his little plane. 46 00:02:53,010 --> 00:02:55,230 It sort of had like a silver lining that you often 47 00:02:55,230 --> 00:02:58,900 see on clouds, and on the other end was clear, blue sky, 48 00:02:58,900 --> 00:03:02,400 with the sun shining through. 49 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,670 I had to concentrate very hard on the other end, 50 00:03:05,670 --> 00:03:07,510 which appeared to be like 12 miles 51 00:03:07,510 --> 00:03:10,790 away and narrowing rapidly. 52 00:03:10,790 --> 00:03:14,060 When I came out, I couldn't see any horizon 53 00:03:14,060 --> 00:03:15,770 or the ocean or the sky. 54 00:03:15,770 --> 00:03:17,810 It was pure gray. 55 00:03:17,810 --> 00:03:22,085 And I'd call it an electronic fog. 56 00:03:22,085 --> 00:03:23,930 I tried to get a position fix. 57 00:03:23,930 --> 00:03:26,900 I asked my co-pilot and he was unable to do it 58 00:03:26,900 --> 00:03:30,190 and we discovered that all the electronic instruments 59 00:03:30,190 --> 00:03:31,770 were malfunctioning. 60 00:03:31,770 --> 00:03:35,100 Then these huge slits opened up, parallel 61 00:03:35,100 --> 00:03:37,995 to the direction of the flight, showing the clear skies. 62 00:03:37,995 --> 00:03:41,090 63 00:03:41,090 --> 00:03:44,500 NARRATOR: At last, air traffic control made radio contact. 64 00:03:44,500 --> 00:03:47,240 They told Gernon he was much closer to Miami 65 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:49,166 than he believed possible. 66 00:03:49,166 --> 00:03:53,510 And I looked at my watch and the airplane clock, 67 00:03:53,510 --> 00:03:57,114 and I'd only been flying for 30 minutes. 68 00:03:57,114 --> 00:04:01,770 So according to my calculations, I was probably 69 00:04:01,770 --> 00:04:03,400 90 miles away from Miami. 70 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:05,720 I told them they had the wrong airplane. 71 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:07,230 Then, after my eyes started to focus, 72 00:04:07,230 --> 00:04:11,362 I could see directly below me was the island of Miami Beach. 73 00:04:11,362 --> 00:04:16,790 74 00:04:16,790 --> 00:04:20,070 I think that when I entered that tunnel vortex, 75 00:04:20,070 --> 00:04:23,740 the aircraft was moved forward through time and space 76 00:04:23,740 --> 00:04:28,166 about 100 miles, or 30 minutes, or both. 77 00:04:28,166 --> 00:04:29,608 At the time, I thought I wouldn't have 78 00:04:29,608 --> 00:04:30,960 made it because there appeared to be 79 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:32,940 a powerful electronic force. 80 00:04:32,940 --> 00:04:35,250 It could have damaged the aircraft beyond repair 81 00:04:35,250 --> 00:04:38,085 and probably crashed in the Bermuda Triangle may 82 00:04:38,085 --> 00:04:39,377 have claimed another victim. 83 00:04:39,377 --> 00:04:44,844 84 00:04:44,844 --> 00:04:47,826 [MUSIC PLAYING] 85 00:04:47,826 --> 00:04:52,310 86 00:04:52,310 --> 00:04:55,490 NARRATOR: Miami is perched on the tip of the USA, 87 00:04:55,490 --> 00:05:00,260 literally on the edge of the Bermuda Triangle. 88 00:05:00,260 --> 00:05:02,720 Newspaper reporters of the "Miami Herald" 89 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:04,630 know that they must look to the sea 90 00:05:04,630 --> 00:05:06,940 for some of their best copy. 91 00:05:06,940 --> 00:05:08,700 This is [INAUDIBLE] of the "Miami Herald." 92 00:05:08,700 --> 00:05:10,170 I'm just checking to see if everything's 93 00:05:10,170 --> 00:05:11,100 running smoothly today. 94 00:05:11,100 --> 00:05:13,611 Any distress calls or emergencies? 95 00:05:13,611 --> 00:05:14,310 No? 96 00:05:14,310 --> 00:05:16,150 Nothing in the Bermuda Triangle, right? 97 00:05:16,150 --> 00:05:17,660 OK, thank you very much. 98 00:05:17,660 --> 00:05:18,980 Goodbye. 99 00:05:18,980 --> 00:05:21,260 NARRATOR: The Executive Editor of the "Miami Herald" 100 00:05:21,260 --> 00:05:23,120 holds a watching brief. 101 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,476 Doug Clifton is a veteran of Triangle tales. 102 00:05:26,476 --> 00:05:27,880 DOUG: The Bermuda Triangle has got 103 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:32,510 to be one of the longest running stories in "Herald" history, 104 00:05:32,510 --> 00:05:33,680 I guess. 105 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:37,420 It started way back when a reporter was doing kind 106 00:05:37,420 --> 00:05:40,680 of an update and he, for the first time, 107 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:44,360 noted that there was a confluence of these kinds 108 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:46,470 of disappearances. 109 00:05:46,470 --> 00:05:48,840 NARRATOR: The reporter, EVW Jones, 110 00:05:48,840 --> 00:05:51,900 said he found the losses occurred within a triangle. 111 00:05:51,900 --> 00:05:55,520 Miami, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico were at its three points. 112 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:58,220 The legend of the Bermuda Triangle was born. 113 00:05:58,220 --> 00:06:01,640 114 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:05,330 DOUG: Since Mr. Jones' first piece, the stories 115 00:06:05,330 --> 00:06:08,460 about the Bermuda Triangle it seem never to stop, 116 00:06:08,460 --> 00:06:10,205 one events occur. 117 00:06:10,205 --> 00:06:13,340 A boat missing, a boat late to report, 118 00:06:13,340 --> 00:06:15,410 a plane veering off course. 119 00:06:15,410 --> 00:06:17,030 It was always in the Bermuda Triangle. 120 00:06:17,030 --> 00:06:22,330 121 00:06:22,330 --> 00:06:25,760 The strangest and most tragic case of all 122 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,080 dates back to December, 1945. 123 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:33,360 Five Avenger planes, belonging to the United States Navy, 124 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:37,590 took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on a training flight. 125 00:06:37,590 --> 00:06:42,280 Neither the 14 men who flew off that day nor their aircraft 126 00:06:42,280 --> 00:06:44,320 were ever seen again. 127 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:46,980 And even now, the mystery they left behind them 128 00:06:46,980 --> 00:06:50,560 lives on in the hearts and minds of their loved ones 129 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,196 and their comrades in arms. 130 00:06:53,196 --> 00:06:55,992 [MUSIC PLAYING] 131 00:06:55,992 --> 00:07:01,620 132 00:07:01,620 --> 00:07:04,810 NARRATOR: Every year, since 1945, a commemoration service 133 00:07:04,810 --> 00:07:06,540 has paid tribute to Flight 19. 134 00:07:06,540 --> 00:07:12,710 135 00:07:12,710 --> 00:07:14,760 The flight should've been uneventful. 136 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,590 Avenger planes like these were tried and tested. 137 00:07:17,590 --> 00:07:21,390 The weather on takeoff was good, the forecast was clear. 138 00:07:21,390 --> 00:07:25,200 The crews were experienced and the planes well maintained. 139 00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:27,450 The five planes were on a routine combat 140 00:07:27,450 --> 00:07:29,030 practice over the ocean. 141 00:07:29,030 --> 00:07:31,410 No one expected any problems. 142 00:07:31,410 --> 00:07:34,440 The commander of Flight 19 was Captain Taylor. 143 00:07:34,440 --> 00:07:36,030 The first sign of trouble came when he 144 00:07:36,030 --> 00:07:38,770 radioed in to say he was lost. 145 00:07:38,770 --> 00:07:42,750 Don Poole had trained Flight 19. 146 00:07:42,750 --> 00:07:44,490 DON: I mean, you went to the tower 147 00:07:44,490 --> 00:07:46,690 and heard Lieutenant Taylor, who was 148 00:07:46,690 --> 00:07:49,210 an officer in charge of this flight, 149 00:07:49,210 --> 00:07:52,890 and he thought he was in the Gulf of Mexico. 150 00:07:52,890 --> 00:07:54,460 Well, good heavens. 151 00:07:54,460 --> 00:07:59,390 Take a heading of 091 out of Fort Lauderdale, 152 00:07:59,390 --> 00:08:02,110 you're not going to be near the Gulf of Mexico. 153 00:08:02,110 --> 00:08:05,970 NARRATOR: Captain Taylor seemed to have no idea where he was. 154 00:08:05,970 --> 00:08:09,570 DON: I saw that he was very confused. 155 00:08:09,570 --> 00:08:12,650 And that's when I started broadcasting to him. 156 00:08:12,650 --> 00:08:13,940 Please head west. 157 00:08:13,940 --> 00:08:16,640 Head west, into the sun. 158 00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:18,311 If your compass is out, forget it. 159 00:08:18,311 --> 00:08:19,010 Head west. 160 00:08:19,010 --> 00:08:22,340 You're going to hit the coast of Florida. 161 00:08:22,340 --> 00:08:23,930 NARRATOR: But it appeared that Captain 162 00:08:23,930 --> 00:08:26,810 Taylor wasn't listening. 163 00:08:26,810 --> 00:08:28,450 DON: He was hopelessly lost because he 164 00:08:28,450 --> 00:08:31,140 kept changing his headings. 165 00:08:31,140 --> 00:08:33,464 Go west a while? Fine. 166 00:08:33,464 --> 00:08:34,940 It thought, that's it. 167 00:08:34,940 --> 00:08:38,220 Then he'd say, no, I think we're in the Gulf. 168 00:08:38,220 --> 00:08:41,250 We're going to turn around, we're going to head east. 169 00:08:41,250 --> 00:08:44,290 NARRATOR: Jim Ward was waiting in his rescue boat for orders. 170 00:08:44,290 --> 00:08:47,330 He heard all the radio transmissions. 171 00:08:47,330 --> 00:08:48,660 JIM: Finally, they said we're going 172 00:08:48,660 --> 00:08:49,690 to give you a direct order. 173 00:08:49,690 --> 00:08:52,025 We want you to fly directly into the sun. 174 00:08:52,025 --> 00:08:53,640 And if you're over the Gulf of Mexico, 175 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:55,650 you're going to hit the coast of Texas. 176 00:08:55,650 --> 00:08:58,770 If you're over the Atlantic Ocean, 177 00:08:58,770 --> 00:09:00,150 you're going to the coast of Florida. 178 00:09:00,150 --> 00:09:04,882 So he acknowledged the direction by the radio 179 00:09:04,882 --> 00:09:06,315 and then they asked well, how much gasoline 180 00:09:06,315 --> 00:09:07,870 do you think you have left? 181 00:09:07,870 --> 00:09:10,090 He said I think I have about 20 minutes. 182 00:09:10,090 --> 00:09:11,986 And we watched the clock tick down 183 00:09:11,986 --> 00:09:14,320 and when 20 minutes went by, we knew 184 00:09:14,320 --> 00:09:16,330 they must be down someplace, but we didn't know where. 185 00:09:16,330 --> 00:09:19,900 186 00:09:19,900 --> 00:09:24,540 NARRATOR: Those left behind still wonder what went wrong. 187 00:09:24,540 --> 00:09:27,120 The bereaved families and comrades have only 188 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:29,260 the Bermuda Triangle to blame. 189 00:09:29,260 --> 00:09:33,086 OFFICER: Show our respect for the members of Flight 19, 190 00:09:33,086 --> 00:09:36,710 who gave their lives in the service of their country. 191 00:09:36,710 --> 00:09:39,370 These men will never be forgotten. 192 00:09:39,370 --> 00:09:41,810 NARRATOR: One member of the search and rescue team 193 00:09:41,810 --> 00:09:43,730 was Dave White. 194 00:09:43,730 --> 00:09:44,780 DAVE: We couldn't believe it. 195 00:09:44,780 --> 00:09:47,191 One plane going down, engine failure or something. 196 00:09:47,191 --> 00:09:49,950 OK. But five of our planes missing? 197 00:09:49,950 --> 00:09:50,800 Impossible. 198 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:52,530 At 6:00, we took off. 199 00:09:52,530 --> 00:09:55,710 They had drawn up a grid for us and each one of us 200 00:09:55,710 --> 00:09:58,460 instructors took five or six people with us. 201 00:09:58,460 --> 00:10:02,390 And we flew out about 150 or 200 miles from here. 202 00:10:02,390 --> 00:10:05,110 My first run was up near Palm Beach 203 00:10:05,110 --> 00:10:07,040 and we went up there and then went out 204 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:09,520 over the ocean for about 200 miles, turn around, 205 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:11,210 came back, nothing. 206 00:10:11,210 --> 00:10:16,450 JIM: We searched on the boat end of it for at least two weeks. 207 00:10:16,450 --> 00:10:18,310 We had patterns that we followed, 208 00:10:18,310 --> 00:10:20,460 trying to find cover the whole ocean, 209 00:10:20,460 --> 00:10:22,540 while there were many, many planes out, 210 00:10:22,540 --> 00:10:24,370 searching all over the place. 211 00:10:24,370 --> 00:10:27,570 B19s and all the planes they could get into the air, 212 00:10:27,570 --> 00:10:30,150 but never found a bit of wreckage, 213 00:10:30,150 --> 00:10:34,690 no gasoline slip, no pillows floating or anything. 214 00:10:34,690 --> 00:10:37,990 There was nothing found. 215 00:10:37,990 --> 00:10:40,900 NARRATOR: An exhaustive official investigation was conducted 216 00:10:40,900 --> 00:10:42,255 by Captain Richard Roberts. 217 00:10:42,255 --> 00:10:44,830 218 00:10:44,830 --> 00:10:46,650 RICHARD: Well, it's still a mystery because we 219 00:10:46,650 --> 00:10:48,580 have not found an airplane. 220 00:10:48,580 --> 00:10:51,810 Digging into all facts we could get at the time, 221 00:10:51,810 --> 00:10:56,360 we can only go so far and our conclusion was 222 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:57,830 we didn't know where they went. 223 00:10:57,830 --> 00:10:58,860 They just vanished. 224 00:10:58,860 --> 00:11:00,430 So we might as well just say they flew 225 00:11:00,430 --> 00:11:01,840 off into the wild blue yonder. 226 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:06,800 227 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:09,776 [MUSIC PLAYING] 228 00:11:09,776 --> 00:11:19,720 229 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:21,940 ARTHUR: Believers in the Bermuda Triangle 230 00:11:21,940 --> 00:11:25,710 have inflated their case by compiling lists of ships 231 00:11:25,710 --> 00:11:29,640 and planes that have come to grief in the area and anywhere 232 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:31,990 near it. 233 00:11:31,990 --> 00:11:34,190 NARRATOR: This commercial passenger plane was on route 234 00:11:34,190 --> 00:11:36,325 from Puerto Rico to Miami. 235 00:11:36,325 --> 00:11:40,940 It disappeared and no wreckage was ever found. 236 00:11:40,940 --> 00:11:43,380 A millionaire sailing yacht, the "Revinauk" 237 00:11:43,380 --> 00:11:47,000 set off on a short pleasure trip to Miami from Key West. 238 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,000 She never returned. 239 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:53,790 This Naval submarine was equipped with radar and sonar, 240 00:11:53,790 --> 00:11:55,870 but while patrolling the Bermuda Triangle, 241 00:11:55,870 --> 00:11:59,190 the "USS Tigrone" went mysteriously off course 242 00:11:59,190 --> 00:12:02,110 and collided with a reef. 243 00:12:02,110 --> 00:12:04,300 Joshua Slocum owned the "Spray." 244 00:12:04,300 --> 00:12:06,910 One of the world's most experienced sailors, 245 00:12:06,910 --> 00:12:09,160 why did he vanish off the Miami Coast? 246 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:12,270 247 00:12:12,270 --> 00:12:14,900 But the facts tell a different story. 248 00:12:14,900 --> 00:12:17,440 Experts claim the airliner ran out of fuel 249 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,590 over the Gulf of Mexico. 250 00:12:20,590 --> 00:12:22,720 The "Revinauk" sailed into a hurricane, 251 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:25,430 according to Coast Guards. 252 00:12:25,430 --> 00:12:28,490 The Tigrone's accident was not unheard of in the Navy. 253 00:12:28,490 --> 00:12:32,300 Sailors didn't think it at all mysterious. 254 00:12:32,300 --> 00:12:34,230 And even Slocum's own son believed 255 00:12:34,230 --> 00:12:38,200 his father simply failed to weather his last storm. 256 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:41,790 Lloyd's of London are the world's foremost insurers 257 00:12:41,790 --> 00:12:43,890 of ships and planes. 258 00:12:43,890 --> 00:12:45,660 If there's something out of the ordinary 259 00:12:45,660 --> 00:12:48,200 about the Bermuda Triangle, the experts 260 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:52,544 there are certain to know. 261 00:12:52,544 --> 00:12:55,850 NARRATOR: At Lloyd's of London, records of the shipping losses 262 00:12:55,850 --> 00:12:58,590 are kept for decades. 263 00:12:58,590 --> 00:13:02,890 At Lloyd's Maritime, Norman Hooke sifts fact from fiction. 264 00:13:02,890 --> 00:13:05,710 NORMAN: Quite a number of the inquiries we receive relate 265 00:13:05,710 --> 00:13:08,990 to vessels which are reportedly lost in the so-called Bermuda 266 00:13:08,990 --> 00:13:10,140 Triangle. 267 00:13:10,140 --> 00:13:11,420 NARRATOR: The "Marine Sulphur Queen" 268 00:13:11,420 --> 00:13:15,230 is a classic case for Bermuda Triangle supporters. 269 00:13:15,230 --> 00:13:18,950 NORMAN: The "Marine Sulphur Queen" was on voyage from Texas 270 00:13:18,950 --> 00:13:22,250 through the Gulf of Mexico through the Florida straits 271 00:13:22,250 --> 00:13:23,960 and then out into the Atlantic. 272 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:27,140 She was last reported off Key West. 273 00:13:27,140 --> 00:13:29,550 NARRATOR: Search and rescue teams found no wreckage 274 00:13:29,550 --> 00:13:31,870 and declared the loss of the "Marine Sulphur Queen" 275 00:13:31,870 --> 00:13:33,760 a mystery. 276 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:36,400 But later, some flotsam did surface, carried 277 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:38,050 north on the Gulf Stream. 278 00:13:38,050 --> 00:13:39,640 NORMAN: The "Marine Sulphur Queen" is 279 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:41,920 regarded as a marine casualty. 280 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:43,730 There's nothing mysterious about her loss, 281 00:13:43,730 --> 00:13:46,450 really, because wreckage has been found 282 00:13:46,450 --> 00:13:50,480 and obviously the wreck does lie at the bottom of the sea bed, 283 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,415 probably southeast of Key West. 284 00:13:53,415 --> 00:13:55,840 [MUSIC PLAYING] 285 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,730 286 00:13:59,730 --> 00:14:03,170 The "Anita" was last reported, I believe, about 150 287 00:14:03,170 --> 00:14:05,690 miles southeast of Cape May. 288 00:14:05,690 --> 00:14:08,500 Nothing ever was found of that vessel, 289 00:14:08,500 --> 00:14:10,300 nor were any survivors ever found, 290 00:14:10,300 --> 00:14:12,430 nor any bodies ever located. 291 00:14:12,430 --> 00:14:14,800 By coincidence, another Norwegian boat carrier, 292 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:18,280 the "Norse Variant," was in a very, very similar location 293 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:22,000 when she was overwhelmed by such severe weather conditions 294 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:25,500 that she sank, with the loss of all her crew 295 00:14:25,500 --> 00:14:29,880 except for one seaman, Stein Gabrielsen. 296 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:31,990 NARRATOR: Gabrielsen was lucky to survive. 297 00:14:31,990 --> 00:14:36,660 He spent three days on a life raft, before being picked up. 298 00:14:36,660 --> 00:14:39,300 His testimony shed light on the fate of the Norse 299 00:14:39,300 --> 00:14:41,320 Variant's sister ship. 300 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:44,345 No supernatural forces had been at work on the Anita. 301 00:14:44,345 --> 00:14:47,330 302 00:14:47,330 --> 00:14:50,100 NORMAN: His story was that the vessel he was on 303 00:14:50,100 --> 00:14:53,330 was overwhelmed by such severe weather conditions, 304 00:14:53,330 --> 00:14:55,250 the vessel sank very, very quickly. 305 00:14:55,250 --> 00:14:58,660 So it's presumed that the Anita suffered the same fate. 306 00:14:58,660 --> 00:15:01,590 Some people may have thought that the Bermuda Triangle, as 307 00:15:01,590 --> 00:15:05,680 such, may have claimed these vessels but, for us, looking 308 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:07,760 through the records, it was obviously 309 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:09,600 weather conditions which determined 310 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:11,100 the fate of these two vessels. 311 00:15:11,100 --> 00:15:13,240 There are no more losses in that particular area, 312 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:14,705 the Bermuda Triangle area than the Atlantic 313 00:15:14,705 --> 00:15:15,980 or anywhere else in the world. 314 00:15:15,980 --> 00:15:25,830 315 00:15:25,830 --> 00:15:28,740 NARRATOR: Even the most famous Bermuda Triangle case of all, 316 00:15:28,740 --> 00:15:34,060 Flight 19, yields to meticulous investigation. 317 00:15:34,060 --> 00:15:39,581 John Myhre believes he knows how Flight 19 came to grief. 318 00:15:39,581 --> 00:15:41,970 [MUSIC PLAYING] 319 00:15:41,970 --> 00:15:45,957 In 1992, searchers thought they might have found the answer. 320 00:15:45,957 --> 00:15:48,292 [MUSIC PLAYING] 321 00:15:48,292 --> 00:15:50,160 322 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:52,940 But these five Avengers were not Flight 19. 323 00:15:52,940 --> 00:15:56,510 324 00:15:56,510 --> 00:16:00,690 Another ditched plane was raised from elsewhere on the sea bed. 325 00:16:00,690 --> 00:16:02,420 Again, hopes were dashed. 326 00:16:02,420 --> 00:16:05,130 327 00:16:05,130 --> 00:16:08,730 The planes are still missing but Meyer believes his diligent 328 00:16:08,730 --> 00:16:11,340 research could update the official reports 329 00:16:11,340 --> 00:16:15,240 drawn up by Captain Roberts. 330 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:17,841 JOHN: I estimate the winds were coming out of a 220 degree 331 00:16:17,841 --> 00:16:18,540 heading. 332 00:16:18,540 --> 00:16:21,470 NARRATOR: Myhre has spent 13 years plotting every aspect 333 00:16:21,470 --> 00:16:24,270 of Flight 19's fateful trip. 334 00:16:24,270 --> 00:16:27,680 The wind speed, ocean currents, and weather conditions all 335 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:28,707 played their part. 336 00:16:28,707 --> 00:16:30,240 JOHN: When we got to this point, they climbed. 337 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:32,440 NARRATOR: He can now say with confidence exactly 338 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:34,816 where the planes went and when. 339 00:16:34,816 --> 00:16:36,870 JOHN: With no other land in sight, as you can see. 340 00:16:36,870 --> 00:16:37,710 There are several things. 341 00:16:37,710 --> 00:16:39,900 The wind was coming from a different direction 342 00:16:39,900 --> 00:16:42,480 and a different speed than they had flight planned. 343 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:45,900 They had a leader that was confused, for whatever reason. 344 00:16:45,900 --> 00:16:50,160 Then we had the kids flying into a bad storm system, 345 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:53,390 and then we had night time on top of that. 346 00:16:53,390 --> 00:16:56,350 In spite of that, the flight would have come back 347 00:16:56,350 --> 00:17:00,520 and hit the mainland, based on this track here, 348 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,680 had not the first airplane run out of gas at 6:04. 349 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:09,574 Robbie, this is essentially the way I figured that the planes-- 350 00:17:09,574 --> 00:17:11,150 NARRATOR: Myhre thinks he knows the point 351 00:17:11,150 --> 00:17:13,140 where the first plane ditched. 352 00:17:13,140 --> 00:17:14,960 He believes the other planes flew off 353 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:17,329 in different directions, in the desperate hope 354 00:17:17,329 --> 00:17:19,520 that one might make it home. 355 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:23,589 Each now lies alone on the Atlantic sea bed. 356 00:17:23,589 --> 00:17:26,390 JOHN: The mystery is being able to prove, 357 00:17:26,390 --> 00:17:30,790 which I think I can on paper, what happened to Flight 19-- 358 00:17:30,790 --> 00:17:34,800 where they went, why they went where they went, 359 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:37,130 why the pilots thought what they did, 360 00:17:37,130 --> 00:17:38,920 and where the aircraft finally came 361 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,740 to rest on the ocean floor. 362 00:17:41,740 --> 00:17:46,880 363 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:48,340 NARRATOR: The US Coast Guard cutters 364 00:17:48,340 --> 00:17:52,290 ply the seas off the Florida coast, day and night. 365 00:17:52,290 --> 00:17:54,430 Their crews know every stretch of sea 366 00:17:54,430 --> 00:17:56,690 and the oceans every mood. 367 00:17:56,690 --> 00:18:01,410 Coast Guard Jim How is skeptical of the Bermuda Triangle. 368 00:18:01,410 --> 00:18:03,300 JIM: Well, we don't know if there is a Bermuda Triangle 369 00:18:03,300 --> 00:18:03,999 or not. 370 00:18:03,999 --> 00:18:06,420 What we know is that a lot of folks that we go out to rescue 371 00:18:06,420 --> 00:18:08,540 get in trouble either because of bad weather 372 00:18:08,540 --> 00:18:10,520 or because of bad judgment on their part. 373 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:13,180 We've never really seen anything paranormal in these waters, 374 00:18:13,180 --> 00:18:15,210 but we do see a lot of people who get in trouble because 375 00:18:15,210 --> 00:18:18,430 of natural phenomenon, such as high winds, heavy seas, 376 00:18:18,430 --> 00:18:20,310 or because of the currents of the Gulf Stream, 377 00:18:20,310 --> 00:18:22,770 which can whisk someone into trouble pretty 378 00:18:22,770 --> 00:18:25,920 far away from where they initially start out. 379 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,645 One of the things that happens in the southeast US off 380 00:18:28,645 --> 00:18:30,820 of Miami, off of Florida is the weather 381 00:18:30,820 --> 00:18:32,890 is usually pretty pleasant and you get a lot of boaters 382 00:18:32,890 --> 00:18:33,589 down here. 383 00:18:33,589 --> 00:18:35,700 It's basically the boating capital of America. 384 00:18:35,700 --> 00:18:37,540 You can boat year around. 385 00:18:37,540 --> 00:18:39,160 The problem is that, in the summer, 386 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:41,165 for example, you can get a lot of thunderstorms 387 00:18:41,165 --> 00:18:44,450 that come through and they can often crop up on short notice. 388 00:18:44,450 --> 00:18:46,150 NARRATOR: Hundreds of shipwrecked mariners 389 00:18:46,150 --> 00:18:49,160 are rescued every year but the Coast Guard videos show 390 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,839 only natural forces at work. 391 00:18:51,839 --> 00:18:53,420 JIM: It can go from a perfectly calm day 392 00:18:53,420 --> 00:18:56,090 like we have today to very, very rough weather, just 393 00:18:56,090 --> 00:18:58,440 in a matter of minutes, eight, 10 foot seas, 40, 394 00:18:58,440 --> 00:18:59,920 50 mile an hour winds. 395 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:01,555 And those winds can capsize a boat 396 00:19:01,555 --> 00:19:03,360 or get people in trouble, swamp the boat. 397 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:06,130 We also have hurricanes that roll through here once or twice 398 00:19:06,130 --> 00:19:08,820 a year and people can get caught in the real bad weather there. 399 00:19:08,820 --> 00:19:10,450 And that, of course, is a much more dramatic 400 00:19:10,450 --> 00:19:13,240 and often leads to ships going down. 401 00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:13,990 Good fix. 402 00:19:13,990 --> 00:19:17,770 I'm in at 07, hold to 400 yards to the right to track. 403 00:19:17,770 --> 00:19:21,860 Recommend course 358 to regain. 404 00:19:21,860 --> 00:19:25,440 Five minute 10 at speed 13 knots. 405 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:27,020 One decibel at 98. 406 00:19:27,020 --> 00:19:28,130 Decibel 98, aye. 407 00:19:28,130 --> 00:19:29,700 North jetty. 408 00:19:29,700 --> 00:19:32,790 Miami Beach, five decibel six, six. 409 00:19:32,790 --> 00:19:35,350 We don't really know where the myth of the Bermuda Triangle 410 00:19:35,350 --> 00:19:36,150 came from. 411 00:19:36,150 --> 00:19:39,040 What we see are natural phenomenon, like the weather 412 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:40,740 and also we see people who just don't 413 00:19:40,740 --> 00:19:42,090 take proper safety precautions. 414 00:19:42,090 --> 00:19:44,780 We actually came across a boat once that was lost at sea 415 00:19:44,780 --> 00:19:46,260 and they called up in a panic. 416 00:19:46,260 --> 00:19:48,820 They were trying to navigate from Miami to the Bahamas 417 00:19:48,820 --> 00:19:51,220 using a place mat from a dinner restaurant. 418 00:19:51,220 --> 00:19:52,940 And they just thought that they could just 419 00:19:52,940 --> 00:19:54,230 drive it like they drive a car. 420 00:19:54,230 --> 00:19:55,750 It just doesn't work that way. 421 00:19:55,750 --> 00:19:57,420 It's very dangerous out here. 422 00:19:57,420 --> 00:19:59,380 The elements can surprise you. 423 00:19:59,380 --> 00:20:01,350 It's not like driving a car down a road. 424 00:20:01,350 --> 00:20:09,980 425 00:20:09,980 --> 00:20:12,850 Amidst all the hype and flim flam, 426 00:20:12,850 --> 00:20:16,851 a few scientists claim to have found some real phenomena 427 00:20:16,851 --> 00:20:17,550 to investigate. 428 00:20:17,550 --> 00:20:21,230 429 00:20:21,230 --> 00:20:22,640 NARRATOR: In America's largest wave 430 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:26,520 tank at Texas A&M University, a unique experiment 431 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:28,170 is about to begin. 432 00:20:28,170 --> 00:20:31,920 Eruptions of gas on the sea bed may explain disappearances 433 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:33,720 in the Bermuda Triangle. 434 00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:37,520 The man behind the idea is Doctor Richard McIver. 435 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:40,100 RICHARD: I was a scientist with one of the major oil companies 436 00:20:40,100 --> 00:20:43,190 and I had been reading in one of the offshore journals 437 00:20:43,190 --> 00:20:45,600 about the large number of floating drilling rigs 438 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:48,130 and drilling ships that had been sunk when they drilled 439 00:20:48,130 --> 00:20:52,480 into shallow gas and gas came rushing up and either sank them 440 00:20:52,480 --> 00:20:53,560 or caught them on fire. 441 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:55,920 At about the same time, I read the account of the Marine 442 00:20:55,920 --> 00:20:59,260 Sulphur Queen, that 429 foot tanker that 443 00:20:59,260 --> 00:21:01,660 disappeared without a trace in good weather, 444 00:21:01,660 --> 00:21:02,690 out of the Florida straits. 445 00:21:02,690 --> 00:21:05,010 And, at that point, I asked the question, 446 00:21:05,010 --> 00:21:10,030 why couldn't naturally occurring gas blowout sink ships? 447 00:21:10,030 --> 00:21:11,220 NARRATOR: The scientists are using 448 00:21:11,220 --> 00:21:13,840 a scaled down tanker, carefully calibrated 449 00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:16,190 to match the real thing. 450 00:21:16,190 --> 00:21:19,130 Gas pipes have been installed on the wave tank floor, 451 00:21:19,130 --> 00:21:23,980 to simulate spontaneous gas explosions from the seabed. 452 00:21:23,980 --> 00:21:27,820 Dr. Wayne Dunlap is in charge of events. 453 00:21:27,820 --> 00:21:29,250 WAYNE: Well we have a vessel. 454 00:21:29,250 --> 00:21:32,020 It's a scale model of a tanker. 455 00:21:32,020 --> 00:21:34,350 It's a perfect scale model and its ballasted 456 00:21:34,350 --> 00:21:35,610 just like a tanker would be. 457 00:21:35,610 --> 00:21:39,040 So it's floating the distance in the water that a tanker would. 458 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:43,980 What we're going to do is turn on the gas at a low pressure. 459 00:21:43,980 --> 00:21:46,810 That means it will get probably smaller bubbles and not as many 460 00:21:46,810 --> 00:21:49,000 of them and we'll see what's happening. 461 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:50,440 Then we're going to increase the pressure 462 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:52,170 and we'll get larger bubbles, more bubbles, 463 00:21:52,170 --> 00:21:53,700 and continue to increase the pressure 464 00:21:53,700 --> 00:21:56,040 and see what affect you get out of it. 465 00:21:56,040 --> 00:22:00,055 If the hypothesis is correct, the ship will sink. 466 00:22:00,055 --> 00:22:02,530 [MUSIC PLAYING] 467 00:22:02,530 --> 00:22:07,980 468 00:22:07,980 --> 00:22:10,820 Dr. McIver believes escaping gas can bring down 469 00:22:10,820 --> 00:22:14,220 airplanes as well as ships. 470 00:22:14,220 --> 00:22:17,090 RICHARD: Well my feeling is that the airplane would experience 471 00:22:17,090 --> 00:22:18,870 tremendous turbulence, which could 472 00:22:18,870 --> 00:22:20,250 cause the airplane to go down. 473 00:22:20,250 --> 00:22:24,440 But more important, perhaps, is that, when the gas is diluted 474 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,000 five to 10 times with air, then it 475 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,970 becomes a combustible mixture and could ignite 476 00:22:29,970 --> 00:22:31,786 on the exhaust of the airplane. 477 00:22:31,786 --> 00:22:33,730 RESEARCHER: Mike, go ahead and check out the camera. 478 00:22:33,730 --> 00:22:38,000 479 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,510 Okay, I'm going to turn it on now. 480 00:22:41,510 --> 00:22:44,000 [MUSIC PLAYING] 481 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:49,478 482 00:22:49,478 --> 00:22:52,466 OK, that's about 20 PSI. 483 00:22:52,466 --> 00:22:55,454 [MUSIC PLAYING] 484 00:22:55,454 --> 00:23:28,121 485 00:23:28,121 --> 00:23:29,318 RICHARD: That's it! We did it. 486 00:23:29,318 --> 00:23:30,812 We did it. We did it. 487 00:23:30,812 --> 00:23:38,337 488 00:23:38,337 --> 00:23:39,970 WAYNE: Well, it seems evident from what I've seen 489 00:23:39,970 --> 00:23:42,220 so far that we can sink a ship. 490 00:23:42,220 --> 00:23:45,630 As you saw, the ship did rotate to the side 491 00:23:45,630 --> 00:23:47,800 and it took on some water. 492 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:48,580 It sank. 493 00:23:48,580 --> 00:23:51,980 And we will try the same experiment 494 00:23:51,980 --> 00:23:55,060 now but with solid tops on and so that it can 495 00:23:55,060 --> 00:23:57,180 rotate and take up any water. 496 00:23:57,180 --> 00:23:59,256 We'll see what happens to it. 497 00:23:59,256 --> 00:24:01,721 [MUSIC PLAYING] 498 00:24:01,721 --> 00:24:14,060 499 00:24:14,060 --> 00:24:16,760 RICHARD: This is the first really scientific experiment 500 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:18,190 we've done, where we've had scale 501 00:24:18,190 --> 00:24:21,340 models and wonderful equipment. 502 00:24:21,340 --> 00:24:24,990 But to see a tanker model that was completely sealed off, 503 00:24:24,990 --> 00:24:28,280 with air inside, that was swamped by the gas bubbles 504 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:32,220 shows that the buoyancy is dramatically reduced in water 505 00:24:32,220 --> 00:24:34,990 when it's charged with bubbles. 506 00:24:34,990 --> 00:24:36,980 NARRATOR: So does Dr. McIver now believe 507 00:24:36,980 --> 00:24:38,720 in the Bermuda Triangle? 508 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:41,130 RICHARD: Well I don't think the Bermuda Triangle is so unique, 509 00:24:41,130 --> 00:24:43,200 as far as gases are concerned. 510 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:46,350 I think the reason that so many ships and planes disappear 511 00:24:46,350 --> 00:24:48,980 there is that the ship density and aircraft 512 00:24:48,980 --> 00:24:50,640 density is so high. 513 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:54,030 We know that ships and planes disappear around the world. 514 00:24:54,030 --> 00:24:55,559 It just so happens that this is a place where 515 00:24:55,559 --> 00:24:56,425 we get a lot of publicity. 516 00:24:56,425 --> 00:25:02,500 517 00:25:02,500 --> 00:25:05,160 ARTHUR: I believe the Bermuda Triangle is 518 00:25:05,160 --> 00:25:08,040 a literary hoax, invented by writers 519 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:11,680 and embroidered by interested parties. 520 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:14,470 It's also a self-fulfilling prophecy. 521 00:25:14,470 --> 00:25:19,150 Amateur sailors can't resist the challenge of dangerous waters, 522 00:25:19,150 --> 00:25:24,370 so they set sail defiantly and inexpertly, and learn 523 00:25:24,370 --> 00:25:25,740 that the sea is unforgiving. 524 00:25:25,740 --> 00:25:28,740 525 00:25:28,740 --> 00:25:31,490 [MUSIC PLAYING] 526 00:25:31,490 --> 00:26:00,434