John Harry Romero II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Training Instructor “Sting 27”, September 10, 1971
Thursday, September 2, 2010
“Captain Romero is an outstanding young officer who displays unlimited potential. He has functioned in an outstanding manner as both a squadron
pilot and as an aircraft commander upgradee. Captain Romero is a highly Opinion of Endorsing Officer. “I highly remommend that he be promoted well ahead of his contemporaries.”
skilled and experienced pilot who continually displays excellent knowledge of
all phases of his job . . .He has demonstrated his ability and desire to assume
increased responsibilities and should be considered for promotion ahead
of his contemporaries.”
Born John Harry Romero, Jr. September 1, 1941, in Lafayette, Louisiana, he grew up a home boy near the Mississippi. After attending University of Southwest Louisiana, Lafayette, he enrolled in the Air Force on December 11th, 1964, at the age of 23. Lanky, almost 6 feet tall, he was nevertheless agile and qualified for some of the best jets. He quickly distinguished himself above his fellow
junior officers, and became an exceptional pilot.
By this time Romero had married his sweetheart,
Carrie, and in the next few years they would have 2
children together, Carolyn, and John III.
After finishing training in Texas, young Romero was
quickly transferred to Hahn, Germany, as a part of the
10th tactical fighter squadron. Various duties then
came as Romero was being groomed for promotion.
He eventually became the Forward Air Controller.
After being transferred back to the States, Romero
continued to express his desire to learn more about
every aspect of aerial warfare. As a result of his
interest and abilities, he occupied a number of
positions while continuing to fly, and finally was
made the second commander of a Phantom F-4 Wing.
On January 18, 1970, he finally got his chance to
put his training and experience to work. He was
transferred to Vietnam, to see front line tactical
fighter combat, including ground support bombing
missions and striking at targets far behind enemy
lines.
The honors came surprisingly quickly. For the first month flying achievements alone he was awarded the Air Medal. Soon even higher awards came. On April 1, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, then on June 10, he was awarded yet another, with First Oak Leaf Cluster. He was then also named Top Gun in his Wing.
“Captain Romero is fully qualified and capable of performing in a nuclear strike, conventional weapons delivery or Air defense role utilizing the F-4D weapons system under all weather conditions. Responsible for planning and executing these missions. Maintains an operational knowledge of peacetime/wartime plans and procedures, continually reviews assigned targets and accomplishes periodic testing on these subjects. Committed to global deployment for indefinite period with minimum notice
Romero enjoys the celebration of their last flight in Vietnam. He is the one drinking the bottle of beer by the sign. Courtesy of John Romero III.
With such capabilities, he was viewed as an ideal training officer. Back to the United States in February 1971, he was transferred to Homestead Air Force Base, earmarked for tctical training in Phantoms for the 306th and then for the 307th. Romero’s record proceeded him wherever he went, and he was soon going to be groomed for Major.
However, not long after his 30th birthday, on 21 September, 1971, he and Lt. Norm Northrup boarded a Phantom and flew out to sea. It was to be a short training maneuver, lasting only 20 minutes. While on radar and in a routine turn, the plane’s Selective Identification Feature faded. The tower controller contacted them and asked them to verify their position. Moments later, after merely a routine confirmation of “Roger, I am in a port turn at this time,” the plane vanished.
By 1971 the Bermuda Triangle was big news, and the Miami Herald newspaper recorded the fact that the planes vanished mysteriously in the “Devil’s Triangle.” The only deduction that could be made was that the plane mysteriously disappeared.
Behind the scenes the family was greeted with little more illuminating information. By 27 September, it had become clear that Romero and Northrup would not be found. Colonel David Rippetoe, in the official condolence letter, summed up their efforts: “Extensive search efforts by aircraft and surface craft equipped with special sonar equipment has failed to locate evidence of any type, such as equipment or debris that could be identified with the aircraft your husband was aboard.”
The disappearance of “Sting 27” remains one of mystery today. The accident report is highly edited, and a weird “discoloration” was seen in the water in the area where it vanished.
John Romero was survived by his young wife and 3 children, who were then 6 and 2 respectively. Six weeks later Carrie gave birth to Joseph Romero, who also later served in the US army.
I am indebted to both his widow, Carrie, and his son, John Harry Romero III, for the information on this page, which is taken from copies of his official records, copies of his awards, and pictures taken of him during his career, which the family generously offered to me. John Romero III has also followed in his father’s footsteps and is an active member of the US Army as a Cavalry Scout. Our communication was long before the present conflict, so wherever he is now he has the best wishes of this web site and I’m sure all those who regularly follow it.
pilot and as an aircraft commander upgradee. Captain Romero is a highly Opinion of Endorsing Officer. “I highly remommend that he be promoted well ahead of his contemporaries.” Born John Harry Romero, Jr. September 1, 1941, in Lafayette, Louisiana, he grew up a home boy near the Mississippi. After attending University of Southwest Louisiana, Lafayette, he enrolled in the Air Force on December 11th, 1964, at the age of 23. Lanky, almost 6 feet tall, he was nevertheless agile and qualified for some of the best jets. He quickly distinguished himself above his fellowjunior officers, and became an exceptional pilot.
By this time Romero had married his sweetheart,
Carrie, and in the next few years they would have 2
children together, Carolyn, and John III.
After finishing training in Texas, young Romero was
quickly transferred to Hahn, Germany, as a part of the
10th tactical fighter squadron. Various duties then
came as Romero was being groomed for promotion.
He eventually became the Forward Air Controller.
After being transferred back to the States, Romero
continued to express his desire to learn more about
every aspect of aerial warfare. As a result of his
interest and abilities, he occupied a number of
positions while continuing to fly, and finally was
made the second commander of a Phantom F-4 Wing.
On January 18, 1970, he finally got his chance to
put his training and experience to work. He was
transferred to Vietnam, to see front line tactical
fighter combat, including ground support bombing
missions and striking at targets far behind enemy
lines.
The honors came surprisingly quickly. For the first month flying achievements alone he was awarded the Air Medal. Soon even higher awards came. On April 1, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, then on June 10, he was awarded yet another, with First Oak Leaf Cluster. He was then also named Top Gun in his Wing. “Captain Romero is fully qualified and capable of performing in a nuclear strike, conventional weapons delivery or Air defense role utilizing the F-4D weapons system under all weather conditions. Responsible for planning and executing these missions. Maintains an operational knowledge of peacetime/wartime plans and procedures, continually reviews assigned targets and accomplishes periodic testing on these subjects. Committed to global deployment for indefinite period with minimum notice
With such capabilities, he was viewed as an ideal training officer. Back to the United States in February 1971, he was transferred to Homestead Air Force Base, earmarked for tctical training in Phantoms for the 306th and then for the 307th. Romero’s record proceeded him wherever he went, and he was soon going to be groomed for Major. However, not long after his 30th birthday, on 21 September, 1971, he and Lt. Norm Northrup boarded a Phantom and flew out to sea. It was to be a short training maneuver, lasting only 20 minutes. While on radar and in a routine turn, the plane’s Selective Identification Feature faded. The tower controller contacted them and asked them to verify their position. Moments later, after merely a routine confirmation of “Roger, I am in a port turn at this time,” the plane vanished.
By 1971 the Bermuda Triangle was big news, and the Miami Herald newspaper recorded the fact that the planes vanished mysteriously in the “Devil’s Triangle.” The only deduction that could be made was that the plane mysteriously disappeared.
Behind the scenes the family was greeted with little more illuminating information. By 27 September, it had become clear that Romero and Northrup would not be found. Colonel David Rippetoe, in the official condolence letter, summed up their efforts: “Extensive search efforts by aircraft and surface craft equipped with special sonar equipment has failed to locate evidence of any type, such as equipment or debris that could be identified with the aircraft your husband was aboard.”
The disappearance of “Sting 27” remains one of mystery today. The accident report is highly edited, and a weird “discoloration” was seen in the water in the area where it vanished.
John Romero was survived by his young wife and 3 children, who were then 6 and 2 respectively. Six weeks later Carrie gave birth to Joseph Romero, who also later served in the US army.
I am indebted to both his widow, Carrie, and his son, John Harry Romero III, for the information on this page, which is taken from copies of his official records, copies of his awards, and pictures taken of him during his career, which the family generously offered to me. John Romero III has also followed in his father’s footsteps and is an active member of the US Army as a Cavalry Scout. Our communication was long before the present conflict, so wherever he is now he has the best wishes of this web site and I’m sure all those who regularly follow it.
Thomas Garner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gunner on PBM, July 10, 1945
This was started by Don’s innocent request to find where there might be a Navy report on this. For over 55 years this incident was publicly obscure. Now thanks to Don and the Navy it can be told here.Banana River Naval Air Station was the center for US Navy training in PBM Martin Mariners, huge aircraft designed for long overseas flights and patrols. They were a crucial aircraft for the Navy in the Pacific; the “eyes” of the fleet because they could scout 1,00o miles ahead. They were also crucial for Air-Sea rescue since they could land and takeoff from the ocean. Because they carried so much fuel, they were often called “flying gas tanks,” and a part of preflight inspection was to pat the men down to make sure none had cigarettes or matches.
Although the war was over in Europe, it was still raging in the Pacific and would not be over for almost two months to come.
Considering the role of the PBM, the Atlantic and Bahamas were considered ideal areas for training. Thousands of training flights went over this area, and only now, slowly and tenuously, are we beginning to uncover how many have disappeared.
The date was July 9, 1945. It took off from Banana River in the evening and flew southeast over the Bahamas. At 9:15 p.m. its routine position report was picked up, stating all was well and that they were near New Providence Island. It was due back at base at 2:15 a.m. the next morning. After it failed to arrive, the Navy searched 10 days and never found any sign of the plane or crew.
A small rain squall was reported on the plane’s route. That was about it. Nothing more. That is nothing for a big Mariner, and it was considered average weather, with good visibility and ceiling. If the pilot wished, he could even fly around it.
But a day after, the families were greeted by surprise and dismay.
Glen Lorraine Winder, S1cThe crew of the PBM Mariner
`Lt. (jg) J.B. White
`Wendell Eugene LaVoy, Ens.
`Elliot Wesley Lewis, Ens.
`Eugene Sailey Boyer, S1c
`Bernard Zlotnick, S1c
`Thomas Cornell Oliver, AOM3c
`James Edward Eisley, AMM3c
`homas Arthur Garner AMM3c
`John Lewis Hurt, Sr. S1c
`Stephen Worobeck, S1c
`Lt. (jg) J.B. White`Wendell Eugene LaVoy, Ens.
`Elliot Wesley Lewis, Ens.
`Eugene Sailey Boyer, S1c
`Bernard Zlotnick, S1c
`Thomas Cornell Oliver, AOM3c
`James Edward Eisley, AMM3c
`homas Arthur Garner AMM3c
`John Lewis Hurt, Sr. S1c
`Stephen Worobeck, S1c
The next telegram, dated 23 July, would bear the usual regrets. “Exhaustive search proves futile in case of your son. He chose a part in the defense of his country requiring courage, stamina, and skill which he has demonstrated in no small degree. My sincere sympathy goes out to you at this time. . . .Commanding Officer NAS Banana River.”
What happened will always remain a mystery. But there are a few pieces of the puzzle that lead to some firm conclusions. First, one thing stands out—it was lost suddenly— the Mariner could land on water if an emergency arose; there would also be enough time to send an SOS. It was last heard from in the vicinity of New Providence (the island on which is situated the capitol of the Bahamas, Nassau) which is well traveled and should have produced some form of debris. It seems a typical crash would have left some debris, some shred to wash up on a nearby island.
If it had not been for wartime secrecy, the public would have been surprised by this and yet another disappearance—a Privateer vanished over the Bahamas on July 18, 1945, during the search operations. No clue has been found for both incidents. The incident of the Privateer has been tersely reported before, such as by John Wallace Spencer, but it has never been placed into context until now.
When I asked Don for information on a Bio, he hesitated a bit. “A young fellow joining the Navy at eighteen hasn’t made a lot of tracks that are interesting to hear about, unless he is some kind of sports star . . .which Tom wasn’t. Also, at age nineteen, he didn’t survive long enough to have much of a Navy career.” He promised to compile something and from this I could pick through what interested me. What he sent me, however, I think was rather well done. So in Don’s own words remembering his brother, I place it here verbatim.
In the Southwest, the “Roaring Twenties” were not good times for everyone. Although across Oklahoma and Texas oil was a booming business with fortunes pouring into the pockets of those who were in the right places, for most of the families of the people working in oil production, the wage earners, times were still hard. Typically they continued to endure with low wages, long working hours, and meager living conditions. Many lived in company houses, small four-room box-framed structures with electric lights, but with no other modern facilities, built on company property in the heart of the cluttered “oil-fields.” It was into such an environment, in a company house in 1926, that Thomas Arthur Garner was born, the fourth child in what was to be a family with six children.
Tom’s father worked for a rapidly growing oil-pipeline company that often relocated its employees, and at that time the company was constructing line and pumping facilities from Texas to the Great Lakes. When Tom was three years old his family was relocated from Oklahoma to a very rural pumping station location near Virginia, Illinois. That was only the first of several relocations for the family, and of several school changes for the children. For grade school, Tom started in Heyworth, Illinois and finished at Hawthorne School in Mattoon, Illinois. He started high school at Mattoon and graduated in 1943 from the high school of Vandalia, Illinois.Vandalia was a small town with a few family-owned mom and pop stores and almost no industry. Opportunities for employment there were flat at best. After his graduation from high school, Tom spent the summer taking a hands-on course in machineshop, learning to work with metal lathes and other metalworking shop tools. Then later he found a section gang job nearby with the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was hard work for a young man who was only eighteen. At the time, although World War II was winding down, the military draft was still very much in effect and Tom was at the age when his “Greetings” could have shown up with the next mail. So preferring the Navy, Tom decided to enlist. After boot camp he was given training as an Aviation Machinist Mate at the Whidbey Island Naval Base near Seattle. As a teenager, Tom had been a natural sharpshooter with a rifle, and when he was training at the Whidbey Island he broke the base record for firing a 50 caliber machine gun. After Whidbey Island he was assigned to the naval seaplane base at Banana River, Florida for further training. What happened to him from there will always be a mystery.
All of those who knew Tom remembered him as a happy-go-lucky, very gregarious type of young person. There were few things he enjoyed more than getting a bunch of guys together in a local field for a game of football or other group sport. He didn’t just enjoy people, he enjoyed a crowd. Of course there were times when he was into mischief, like most other young boys, but he was a very responsible young man, and was always popular with others around him.
The middle and late thirties saw the nation still in the echoes of The Great Depression. You didn’t expect to see an airplane in the sky over a small midwestern town everyday, and to see one up close was really a treat. Tom was always fascinated by any airplane. In his early teens he had some old photo albums in which he collected any pictures that he could find in magazines, newspapers, or whatever, including the small calling card size pictures and descriptions that came in packages of “Wings” cigarettes. When he had some change for the balsawood kits, he often bought and assembled the models.
Tom had always enjoyed everything about airplanes. Then apparently, and perhaps somewhat ironically, on July 10, 1945, he died in one. He was a crewmember of a U.S. Navy PBM Martin Mariner that left its Banana River base that evening for a routine night training flight. Sometime after dark it disappeared in the Caribbean Sea, one large seaplane with twelve young men. It will never be known why, how, or exactly where. An extensive search with both surface vessels and aircraft was started immediately and continued for ten days, but nothing was found. They were all gone without a trace.Robert Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pilot of Navion A16, May 25, 1973
book, The Bermuda Triangle, and mentioned as the most recent case! I am grateful here for the information provided by Bob Corner’s sons, Chris and Robert.
On May 25, 1973, Bob left Pager Field at 3:30 p.m. with his friend Reno Regon, for a trip to Freeport, Grand Bahama. Bob was flying a 1947 Navion A16, with full fuel tanks. As Freeport is only about 100 or so miles away to the northeast of Miami, there can be little worry about fuel shortage.
Midway in the flight, over West Palm Beach, Florida, Bob contacted Miami Air Control for weather information. Miami informs him there is a belt of severe thunderstorms between West Palm Beach and Freeport. He is instructed to turn southeast and circumnavigate the cells in order to make Freeport.
There is another plane only 10 minutes behind him which is also given the same instructions. Both aircraft duly turn southeast to avoid the weather front and head to Freeport.
After this moment nothing is ever heard from Bob Corner again. The aircraft only 10 minutes behind started an intensive search for the Navion, and backtracked on its course before heading back to Freeport. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard had swung into action and combed the route to Freeport. Despite this, no trace was ever found.
Bob Corner was hardly a “weekend wing” flyer who only occasionally chanced to fly. He began in Oxford, England, in 1952, and had by the time of his disappearance amassed over 5,000 flight time hours in several different types. He was conscientious about flying, maintained his planes in tip-top condition, and was careful to remain abreast developing weather conditions during his flights. He held an instrument rating and was capable of flying without any horizon whatsoever.
Biography John Clutha McPhee
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The Star Ariel is one of the most famous disappearances in the Bermuda
Triangle and, indeed, in the history of aviation. When it disappeared
in 1949, it also became a pivotal case for the developing mythos of
the Bermuda Triangle.
This web page is the biography of Star Ariel’s captain and pilot,
J.C. McPhee. If you have read the books on the Triangle, you
are familiar with McPhee’s last transmission and the sudden mystery
to which he and his airliner were then plunged. But until now no one has
really known anything about the pilot himself.
This web page is made possible by the work of his sister, Joan Beckett. She has
kindly given this author pictures, documents, even copies of a personal
letter and video of John playing golf on Bermuda. Through this web
page you will see the character of an expert pilot emerge, a brother
a peaceful spirit and a reflective man
John was born on June 21, 1918, in New Zealand, of Irish/Danish heritage. He was christened “Clutha” after a respected friend of the family, Sir Clutha McKenzie, who founded the Blind Institute and was himself blind. His early life passed as any other. He was educated at the Otago’s Boys’ High School and Victoria University College. Afterward he went on to become a member of the staff of an importers in Wellington. John was an intellectual spirit, though he tempered this with practicality and adventure. His hobbies included yachting, tennis, tramping and golfing. It seemed natural that he would decide to enlist in the RNZAF in 1942.
He quickly showed an aptitude for flying. He had a mature bearing, was charming and considered quite popular by the ladies.
Since the hottest action of the war was over Europe and Britain, John was one of many members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force who were sent to Canada for training. After he graduated, he was tranferred to England as a pilot of a Liberator bomber. His duty was to fly missions over Germany and France. He was then transferred to India for Lord Mountbatten’s Burma Campaign. One target was Amarapura, which straddled the Japanese supply lines and retreat route from Mandalay. The heavy bombing runs on January 25, 1945, were pulled off neatly, and John was naturally called upon to be interviewed by his hometown newspaper in New Zealand. “Fendalton Man in Big Bombing Raid” read the headlines. John, then a Warrant-Officer, gave the typical general view of the raid for the civilian audience. He described the sight of 3 fires
with smoke rising 4000 feet into the air. “The first squadron to go in had done a good job, for fires were burning in the target area when we arrived.”
John was transferred back to England and attached to the RAF for awhile, and this placed him in contact with the best airlines. A peacetime trade at a desk no longer seemed enough for him. He wanted to keep flying. When the war ended John was a Flight Lieutenant. He quickly attained civil flying licenses and found a job with B.O.A.C (British Overseas Airways Corp).
Early in 1947, however, better prospects surfaced. A new company B.S.A.A.C (British South American Airlines Corp) was formed, made up mostly of former RAF pilots. Amidst many old acquaintances and friends, John found himself flying regularly and on long routes. In February he again landed in the newspaper for having been the co-pilot on the world record
setting flight from London to New Zealand on February 4, 1947, carrying Air Vice Marshal D.T.C. Bennett.
The flight had been a triumph for BSAAC which as a new company had been playing second fiddle to BOAC. The flight, from London, the Mediterranean, Lydda, Karachi, Calcutta, Singapore, Darwin and Sidney, was a charter that BOAC was unable to accept, but BSAAC accepted it and with record breaking speed. But BSAAC was often run on a shoestring. As the newspaper article put it: “The plane would have to leave on its return flight almost immediately, as it was engaged in the London-Buenos Aires Service.”
This flight attracted more press to BSAAC, and more possibilities. But for now the airline continued to live up to its name and command the British to South America airways.
The new Tudor IV aircraft was also an added boon, so it seemed. BSAAC had been flying mostly converted York transports and Lancaster bombers. But the Tudor was a new, sleek, specially designed airliner. The airline bought a number of them, and had even played a role in their development.
McPhee would graduate to full captain shortly and get to fly the new Tudors. Although the pace was quick on the small airlines, its limited routes between Britain and South America made its pilots intimately familiar with the weather and idiosyncrasies of the run. The stopovers, though short, were also in some very plush spots, namely Bermuda.
Bermuda came to be a major stopover for any BSAAC flight, since for one it was the only spot of land after the Azores on the who route until one came to Nassau and Kingston. Ferry flights to America for BOAC would often go to Canada and then down to the US, but it was not uncommon to see many BSAAC aircraft dotting the airfields of Nassau, Bermuda, Kingston, and the Azores.
The Tudor IV was distinguishing itself as a beautiful plane, and BSAAC’s livery was a bland but attractive chrome silver, with streaking red lines, and the British union jack mounted on the tail rudder. However, it was also extensively used as a transport, and had distinguished itself in the Berlin airlifts in 1948.
“Star Girls”—stewardesses for BSAAC. Although the names are unknown, one might be J.B. Moxon, the stewardess on Star Ariel. This is from John’s personal effects sent back home. Courtesy of Joan Beckett.
Beautiful shot of a Tudor IV in BSAAC livery, from J.C. McPhee’s personal collection. Courtesy of Joan Beckett
During his Bermuda stopovers, John found time to do a little golf, enjoy the isolated island, and gather with all the pilot types at the White Horse Tavern in St. Georges.
By 1949, he was just turning 31 years old. He had been a bomber pilot and civilian pilot and now wore the 4 stripes of an airliner captain. He lived a quiet enough life in Middlesex, England, and as a single, handsome man, was sociable enough but had still not found his mate. Both the writings of his sister and himself show them to be tasteful, unassuming and self-disciplined people.
On January 9, 1949, he would pen this letter.
Dear Sister,
Many thanks for the amusing book you sent me. That fellow Smith is quite a satirist—but I don’t think he can make up his mind whether he is one of “us” or still a visitor.
Looking back on things— particularly the “scrum” *between 5 and 6, to say nothing of the discreet withdrawal to the “lounge” after 6 p.m., I cannot imagine what pleasure is derived from pub drinking.
English pub life is quite [a] wonderful thing and there is little abuse of drinking. We all have our favorite local and what better than to pop in for a pint at your leisure during the evening?
In fact, having written your letter, I shall probably take a walk down to the “Berkely Arms” and have one drink, maybe two, but no more; say hello to the local types and walk back.
A pleasant and convivial way to pass an hour.
I hate this mass production drinking.
New Years Eve I went to a jolly party which saw the light of New Year’s Day. In fact the neighbors had a good view of me arriving home well after breakfast complete with bow-tie, etc.
You possibly heard that our Chief Executive was drowned in Rio. We are not having a new one. Everyone gets a bump higher and the Chairman becomes managing director as well.
Have not seen a show for a while, but the annual G & S season starts soon. Incidentally, I hope NZ puts up a show at cricket next season or I shall be forced to retire to the country during their visit here.
Love to all,
John
.This letter, mailed on January 10, would not be the next time she heard of John. On Janaury 17, John piloted the Star Ariel from Bermuda to Kingston, with 19 persons aboard, including himself. That very day, Joan and her family heard a radio broadcast that it was missing. “We learned more the following day from a newspaper reporter and then spent an anxious time waiting for further news of the 'plane’s fate— it was some days before we learned there was no trace of Star Ariel.”
With all hope given up, the family finally posted the obit in the paper.
tar Ariel.”
With all hope given up, the family finally posted the obit in the paper.
Triangle and, indeed, in the history of aviation. When it disappeared
in 1949, it also became a pivotal case for the developing mythos of
the Bermuda Triangle.
This web page is the biography of Star Ariel’s captain and pilot,
J.C. McPhee. If you have read the books on the Triangle, you
are familiar with McPhee’s last transmission and the sudden mystery
to which he and his airliner were then plunged. But until now no one has
really known anything about the pilot himself.
This web page is made possible by the work of his sister, Joan Beckett. She has
kindly given this author pictures, documents, even copies of a personal
letter and video of John playing golf on Bermuda. Through this web
page you will see the character of an expert pilot emerge, a brother
a peaceful spirit and a reflective man
John was born on June 21, 1918, in New Zealand, of Irish/Danish heritage. He was christened “Clutha” after a respected friend of the family, Sir Clutha McKenzie, who founded the Blind Institute and was himself blind. His early life passed as any other. He was educated at the Otago’s Boys’ High School and Victoria University College. Afterward he went on to become a member of the staff of an importers in Wellington. John was an intellectual spirit, though he tempered this with practicality and adventure. His hobbies included yachting, tennis, tramping and golfing. It seemed natural that he would decide to enlist in the RNZAF in 1942.
He quickly showed an aptitude for flying. He had a mature bearing, was charming and considered quite popular by the ladies.
Since the hottest action of the war was over Europe and Britain, John was one of many members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force who were sent to Canada for training. After he graduated, he was tranferred to England as a pilot of a Liberator bomber. His duty was to fly missions over Germany and France. He was then transferred to India for Lord Mountbatten’s Burma Campaign. One target was Amarapura, which straddled the Japanese supply lines and retreat route from Mandalay. The heavy bombing runs on January 25, 1945, were pulled off neatly, and John was naturally called upon to be interviewed by his hometown newspaper in New Zealand. “Fendalton Man in Big Bombing Raid” read the headlines. John, then a Warrant-Officer, gave the typical general view of the raid for the civilian audience. He described the sight of 3 fires
with smoke rising 4000 feet into the air. “The first squadron to go in had done a good job, for fires were burning in the target area when we arrived.”
John was transferred back to England and attached to the RAF for awhile, and this placed him in contact with the best airlines. A peacetime trade at a desk no longer seemed enough for him. He wanted to keep flying. When the war ended John was a Flight Lieutenant. He quickly attained civil flying licenses and found a job with B.O.A.C (British Overseas Airways Corp).
Early in 1947, however, better prospects surfaced. A new company B.S.A.A.C (British South American Airlines Corp) was formed, made up mostly of former RAF pilots. Amidst many old acquaintances and friends, John found himself flying regularly and on long routes. In February he again landed in the newspaper for having been the co-pilot on the world record
The flight had been a triumph for BSAAC which as a new company had been playing second fiddle to BOAC. The flight, from London, the Mediterranean, Lydda, Karachi, Calcutta, Singapore, Darwin and Sidney, was a charter that BOAC was unable to accept, but BSAAC accepted it and with record breaking speed. But BSAAC was often run on a shoestring. As the newspaper article put it: “The plane would have to leave on its return flight almost immediately, as it was engaged in the London-Buenos Aires Service.”
This flight attracted more press to BSAAC, and more possibilities. But for now the airline continued to live up to its name and command the British to South America airways.
The new Tudor IV aircraft was also an added boon, so it seemed. BSAAC had been flying mostly converted York transports and Lancaster bombers. But the Tudor was a new, sleek, specially designed airliner. The airline bought a number of them, and had even played a role in their development.
McPhee would graduate to full captain shortly and get to fly the new Tudors. Although the pace was quick on the small airlines, its limited routes between Britain and South America made its pilots intimately familiar with the weather and idiosyncrasies of the run. The stopovers, though short, were also in some very plush spots, namely Bermuda.
Bermuda came to be a major stopover for any BSAAC flight, since for one it was the only spot of land after the Azores on the who route until one came to Nassau and Kingston. Ferry flights to America for BOAC would often go to Canada and then down to the US, but it was not uncommon to see many BSAAC aircraft dotting the airfields of Nassau, Bermuda, Kingston, and the Azores.
The Tudor IV was distinguishing itself as a beautiful plane, and BSAAC’s livery was a bland but attractive chrome silver, with streaking red lines, and the British union jack mounted on the tail rudder. However, it was also extensively used as a transport, and had distinguished itself in the Berlin airlifts in 1948.
“Star Girls”—stewardesses for BSAAC. Although the names are unknown, one might be J.B. Moxon, the stewardess on Star Ariel. This is from John’s personal effects sent back home. Courtesy of Joan Beckett.Beautiful shot of a Tudor IV in BSAAC livery, from J.C. McPhee’s personal collection. Courtesy of Joan BeckettDuring his Bermuda stopovers, John found time to do a little golf, enjoy the isolated island, and gather with all the pilot types at the White Horse Tavern in St. Georges.
By 1949, he was just turning 31 years old. He had been a bomber pilot and civilian pilot and now wore the 4 stripes of an airliner captain. He lived a quiet enough life in Middlesex, England, and as a single, handsome man, was sociable enough but had still not found his mate. Both the writings of his sister and himself show them to be tasteful, unassuming and self-disciplined people.
On January 9, 1949, he would pen this letter.
Dear Sister,
Many thanks for the amusing book you sent me. That fellow Smith is quite a satirist—but I don’t think he can make up his mind whether he is one of “us” or still a visitor.
Looking back on things— particularly the “scrum” *between 5 and 6, to say nothing of the discreet withdrawal to the “lounge” after 6 p.m., I cannot imagine what pleasure is derived from pub drinking.
English pub life is quite [a] wonderful thing and there is little abuse of drinking. We all have our favorite local and what better than to pop in for a pint at your leisure during the evening?
In fact, having written your letter, I shall probably take a walk down to the “Berkely Arms” and have one drink, maybe two, but no more; say hello to the local types and walk back.
A pleasant and convivial way to pass an hour.
I hate this mass production drinking.
New Years Eve I went to a jolly party which saw the light of New Year’s Day. In fact the neighbors had a good view of me arriving home well after breakfast complete with bow-tie, etc.
You possibly heard that our Chief Executive was drowned in Rio. We are not having a new one. Everyone gets a bump higher and the Chairman becomes managing director as well.
Have not seen a show for a while, but the annual G & S season starts soon. Incidentally, I hope NZ puts up a show at cricket next season or I shall be forced to retire to the country during their visit here.
Love to all,
John
With all hope given up, the family finally posted the obit in the paper.
tar Ariel.”
With all hope given up, the family finally posted the obit in the paper.
There had never been an SOS or inkling of trouble. The last the world had heard from John McPhee was a dull and routine position report.
In 1951 Joan heard from a friend, John Veale, former RNZAF (later to become Pres. Air New Zealand), who had visited Bermuda recently, and met some of John’s old “flyer type” friends at the White Horse Tavern. “Both Arthur Woodman and Kippenberger remember your brother very, very well, and we talked about him at some length. If it is any comfort to you Kippenberger told me that the search for the Star Ariel was the biggest search that he had even seen either during the war or after it, he himself being a very active participant. Apparently everything was flying in an endevour to find the missing Tudor, and from what I learned no stone was left unturned. . .”
By the 1970s the Star Ariel was one of many listed as missing in the notorious “Bermuda Triangle.” No one was too interested in anything but the general points of the flight and how it fit with other incidents. Certainly no one was interested in the persons on board. Perhaps this is why the incident was easy to dismiss when the profitable repast of debunking soon came into vogue. Star Ariel, along with so many others, were finally written down to mundane pilot error or weather or, as in Larry Kusche’s hallmark of debunking The Bermuda Triangle Mystery—Solved, on an ineffective and tardy search.But for the families, friends, and for those who searched and knew the area, the questions were not so easily answered.
In 1998 Joan’s daughter, Gini, placed an add in Flight International, at the suggestion of the Department of Transport which could no longer answer any of the family’s questions. In it she asked for information from anyone of the relatives of the lost crew and passengers. In reply to this advertizment, there came one interesting letter. This was from an aviation engineer, Charles Martins, who had worked under Freddie Laker in the 1950s in an attempt to bring the Tudor IV back to usable flying status. He was assigned to see if the Tudor could be used for carrying cargo. His job entailed cutting a cargo door into one derelict Tudor to see if it was feasible. When cutting through the fuselage, he had a chance to examine the inner construction of the Tudor. As far as he could tell the Tudor was “prone to explosive decompression due to metal fatigue.” He came to the firm opinion that this was the cause of both Tudors’ loss.
Although we can never be sure, his theory is worth considering. He was able to bring back the Tudor IV as a cargo carrying aircraft, this time limited to lower altitude and therefore with no need for an hermetically sealed cabin and potential decompression. As he notes, the Tudor IV went on as the “Super Trader” to carry cargo all around the world without any more mysteries befalling it.
Nevertheless, there are certain points which still link the Tudors to mystery and argue against Martins’ theory. One, Tudors had been flying all over the world for BOAC and for BSAAC. None disappeared but Star Tiger and Star Ariel. Moreover, when the Star Tiger was lost, it was at an altitude of only 2,000 feet, making decompression irrelevant. Like Star
Martins’ sketch of the skin to fuselage connection (side view), revealing what he believed to be the weakness and cause of the Tudors’ sudden disappearances.
Ariel it was also a new plane, with only 500 hours flying time. The possibility of metal fatigue is not ruled out, but it seems less likely. True, Star Ariel was at a high altitude when lost, but if it exploded there should have been some form of debris located. Yet there was none. There was none from either.
Martins, as have many others, brought up the loss of the 2 British Comet jetliners in the 1950s as an example of what metal fatigue can do. Both were suddenly lost. In their cases, however, both wrecks were eventually found (in the Mediterranean and in India), and the problem discovered. They were corrected and placed back in service. The Tudors were investigated, but no problem was discovered. They were merely relegated to sit on the tarmac.
I am also privy to yet another rumor. The first Civil Air Director for Bermuda, Wing Commander M.O. Ware, though in ailing health, recalls that an engineer was sent out from London to do tests on Tudors sitting idle on the field at Bermuda. His tests showed that fuel in some had a tendency to accumulated in the engine farings, creating a potentially dangerous and explosive situation. Due to his ill health, however, he has been unable to locate his diary and confirm the engineer’s name and whether it was indeed the Tudor aircraft in question.
All this aside, we are left with mystery to this day. It seems far more than coincidental that out of all the routes the Tudors flew, the only two to vanish were in the Triangle, each without trace.
Joan’s final memorial to her brother in 1999, the 50th anniversary: “NZ416216 Flight Lieutenant John Clutha McPhee, RNZAF and RAF 1942-1945. Captain of Tudor IVB “Star Ariel” G-AGRE which disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle on a flight between Bermuda and Kingston (Jamaica) on 17th January 1949”
In 1951 Joan heard from a friend, John Veale, former RNZAF (later to become Pres. Air New Zealand), who had visited Bermuda recently, and met some of John’s old “flyer type” friends at the White Horse Tavern. “Both Arthur Woodman and Kippenberger remember your brother very, very well, and we talked about him at some length. If it is any comfort to you Kippenberger told me that the search for the Star Ariel was the biggest search that he had even seen either during the war or after it, he himself being a very active participant. Apparently everything was flying in an endevour to find the missing Tudor, and from what I learned no stone was left unturned. . .”
By the 1970s the Star Ariel was one of many listed as missing in the notorious “Bermuda Triangle.” No one was too interested in anything but the general points of the flight and how it fit with other incidents. Certainly no one was interested in the persons on board. Perhaps this is why the incident was easy to dismiss when the profitable repast of debunking soon came into vogue. Star Ariel, along with so many others, were finally written down to mundane pilot error or weather or, as in Larry Kusche’s hallmark of debunking The Bermuda Triangle Mystery—Solved, on an ineffective and tardy search.But for the families, friends, and for those who searched and knew the area, the questions were not so easily answered.
In 1998 Joan’s daughter, Gini, placed an add in Flight International, at the suggestion of the Department of Transport which could no longer answer any of the family’s questions. In it she asked for information from anyone of the relatives of the lost crew and passengers. In reply to this advertizment, there came one interesting letter. This was from an aviation engineer, Charles Martins, who had worked under Freddie Laker in the 1950s in an attempt to bring the Tudor IV back to usable flying status. He was assigned to see if the Tudor could be used for carrying cargo. His job entailed cutting a cargo door into one derelict Tudor to see if it was feasible. When cutting through the fuselage, he had a chance to examine the inner construction of the Tudor. As far as he could tell the Tudor was “prone to explosive decompression due to metal fatigue.” He came to the firm opinion that this was the cause of both Tudors’ loss.
Although we can never be sure, his theory is worth considering. He was able to bring back the Tudor IV as a cargo carrying aircraft, this time limited to lower altitude and therefore with no need for an hermetically sealed cabin and potential decompression. As he notes, the Tudor IV went on as the “Super Trader” to carry cargo all around the world without any more mysteries befalling it.
Nevertheless, there are certain points which still link the Tudors to mystery and argue against Martins’ theory. One, Tudors had been flying all over the world for BOAC and for BSAAC. None disappeared but Star Tiger and Star Ariel. Moreover, when the Star Tiger was lost, it was at an altitude of only 2,000 feet, making decompression irrelevant. Like Star
Martins, as have many others, brought up the loss of the 2 British Comet jetliners in the 1950s as an example of what metal fatigue can do. Both were suddenly lost. In their cases, however, both wrecks were eventually found (in the Mediterranean and in India), and the problem discovered. They were corrected and placed back in service. The Tudors were investigated, but no problem was discovered. They were merely relegated to sit on the tarmac.
I am also privy to yet another rumor. The first Civil Air Director for Bermuda, Wing Commander M.O. Ware, though in ailing health, recalls that an engineer was sent out from London to do tests on Tudors sitting idle on the field at Bermuda. His tests showed that fuel in some had a tendency to accumulated in the engine farings, creating a potentially dangerous and explosive situation. Due to his ill health, however, he has been unable to locate his diary and confirm the engineer’s name and whether it was indeed the Tudor aircraft in question.
All this aside, we are left with mystery to this day. It seems far more than coincidental that out of all the routes the Tudors flew, the only two to vanish were in the Triangle, each without trace.
Don Henry the person playing his life in burmuda triangle
Don Henry is a man who has seen it all. He has been a free diver, hard hat, salvage and tug captain since the end of World War II. The sea has trained every movement of his body, conditioned every reflex of his quick and piercing eyes. Even now in his retirement, his mannerisms and features are razor sharp, prepared for any quick action the sea might send his way. About 70 years old, he is still a strong hulk of a man that moves with great agility. Your hand will sink into his as he shakes it in friendly greeting. His white hair is crewcut short. He examines you like a prospective crewman. His frank eyes hold nothing back. The tone of his kind invitation to sit down almost sounds like a command, and makes you feel it is best never to experience his displeasure.
His eyes return frequently to the sea, to the topic of tugs, their design and history. But out of all the seas he has traveled, he has never been able to explain one incident back in 1966 while traveling through the Bermuda Triangle. His story has never changed since he first told it. He offers it in a straightforward manner, and is not given to theoretical digression. The following is a transcript, as noted in a conversation with him back in 1992. The pictures are those taken of him during his reenactment for Alan Landsburg in his 1977 Documentary Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle, in which he played himself.
FROM DON HENRY
Well, we were heading to the Miami-Lauderdale area where I had a salvage company at the time called Sea Phantom Exploration. We were on return trip from Puerto Rico, with a barge in tow. My tug was the Good News. She was a 160 foot tug with a lot of power, 2,000 horsepower. The barge itself was about 2,500 tons. We had it on a 600 foot towline. It had carried petroleum nitrate, but it was empty now. We were over the Tongue of the Ocean area— that’s part of the Bahamas— about 3 days out of Rico.
It was daytime, in the afternoon. I had been on the bridge for sometime since the morning, so I had gone to my cabin for a little rest which is just aft the bridge. While I was in my cabin, I heard a great deal of commotion coming from the bridge. The crew were hollering and screaming. I came running out onto the bridge and yelled “What the hell is going on here?!”
The chief officer was there, and he said ‘take a look at the compass, Cap.’
I walked over and looked. The gyro was spinning in a clockwise motion, and the magnetic compass was going completely bananas. I had never seen anything like it before. I knew a compass could tumble but never saw that on a boat. You just don’t get that much acceleration, especially on a tug. I had captained tugs since World War II, so I knew this was something weird. . . .The magnetic compass was simply going around and around.
“What the Hell is going on here?!”
It wasn’t the weather. The sea had been flat calm. Visibility had been good. It was somewhat cloudy but the clouds were high up. There were no storm clouds, cumulus and such.
We also had an electronic drain at this time, I guess you’d call it. Whatever it was, it drained everything. We had no communications of any kind over the radios. There were no lights. We lost the generators— they were running but produced no energy. There was just nothing. There was also a case of fifty batteries I had picked up in Rico that I just had to throw away. They were completely shot. This we found out later. We didn’t know this at the time.
During whatever this was, I went out on the bridge . . .I was going to check on the tug but the sky caught my attention first. There was no horizon now; You couldn’t see where the sky ended and the water began. It looked as if there was no ocean; and there was no sky. I mean, as if it were all one, blended together. I looked down on the ocean. All I saw was foam; it was like milk. The sky was the same color. There was just no definition between the two as there always is, so that’s why I say there was no horizon.
I automatically looked aft to the barge; it was a reflex reaction. But there was no barge! We had felt no snap. And we would have because if a barge like that had been severed from a tug pulling it with all its power, you’d take off like a scalded cat! I knew it had to be there but I couldn’t see it. The towline was leading back the way it was supposed to be, but there was simply no barge.
I ran to the after deck, then down to the towing deck, and started to pull the towing hawser— You can’t pull a 2,500 ton barge of course— but you can tell if something is attached. It was. The line was tight. It was very taught. There was something on the other end all right.
I still couldn’t see it though. There was a fog or something around it, like clouds, and the towline was running aft into that. I’ve likened it to the old Indian rope trick. The towline was just sticking out of a fog. . . but the fog was no where else. It was just around where the barge should be. The water was also more choppy immediately around where the barge should be.
That was enough for me! I ran back up to the bridge and kicked those throttles full ahead. It wasn’t like ‘full ahead and clear for action’: it was full ahead and let’s get the hell out of here!
I had heard about the Bermuda Triangle at this time; most every seaman about those waters had. I thought, my God I don’t want to be another statistic!
We plowed ahead . . .or tried to. It seemed that something was pulling us back. It was like being in the middle of two people pulling on your arms. We were trying to go forward under our power but we were being restrained. When you’ve been at sea for any amount of time, especially on tugs, you get a feel for it; you can tell when it is moving and when its being restrained; there is a vibration in a ship that is there all the time; you can tell when its going and when it isn’t.
Now coming out of this thing was just like coming out of a fog bank, gradual but steady. We could see the horizon again. We got everything back: the radios, the lights, the generators. We got the damn barge back. The line was leading back to it. That fog was gone.
I went back and tugged on the towline. The barge was solidly attached. We had a 3 and half inch towline on it and it hadn’t split. It was still intact.
We plowed ahead for some time. As soon as we got out of that spot, I went back to make sure everything was all right, that the line hadn’t weakened at the coupling during our struggle. I put a boat over the side and went back. The barge was warm, much warmer than it should have been. It wasn’t hot. I mean, you could touch it. But it was warmer, much warmer than would have been normal.
Like I’ve said, I was never leery about sailing the Bermuda Triangle afterward. It’s the thing that happened. The whole incident took only about, oh, I don’t know, 7 to 10 minutes, from the time I came onto the bridge until the barge came out of that fog. I mean, it scared the hell ot of me, but I’m not leery about going back down in there. You can’t avoid the area anyway. I’ve been captaining tugs and salvage operations from Puerto Rico to Canada. Its just something that happened and it made me into a ‘believer.’
Question: Had you ever experienced any changes like this in your compass before?
Not like this. I know they can spin around one complete time before coming on course again, if you pass over a large wreck or something. If you sit on a wreck they can go crazy. I salvaged Japanese warship wrecks in Tokyo Bay after the war so I know what it’s like. I’ve heard that compasses still spin over Iron Bottom Sound near Guadalcanal from all the ships that were sunk in the battles there.
A magnetic compass points toward true north from the magnetic pole, a gyro compass sets up its own magnetic field and points north. We later checked for a power flux that might have influenced the compass, but there had been any. We would keep a constant watch on our generator, to guard against that thing. If something like that goes unnoticed, you can go off course. In the Bahamas that can be bad since there are dangerous shallows.
Question: Where were you when this “weird experience,” as you call it, happened?
We were over the Tongue of the Ocean. It was over 3,000 feet deep where this happened.
Question: Did you think something extraordinary had happened?
Hell yes! I knew something big was going on, but once was enough! I couldn’t think of anything else but ‘My God, I’m next!”
His eyes return frequently to the sea, to the topic of tugs, their design and history. But out of all the seas he has traveled, he has never been able to explain one incident back in 1966 while traveling through the Bermuda Triangle. His story has never changed since he first told it. He offers it in a straightforward manner, and is not given to theoretical digression. The following is a transcript, as noted in a conversation with him back in 1992. The pictures are those taken of him during his reenactment for Alan Landsburg in his 1977 Documentary Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle, in which he played himself.
FROM DON HENRY
Well, we were heading to the Miami-Lauderdale area where I had a salvage company at the time called Sea Phantom Exploration. We were on return trip from Puerto Rico, with a barge in tow. My tug was the Good News. She was a 160 foot tug with a lot of power, 2,000 horsepower. The barge itself was about 2,500 tons. We had it on a 600 foot towline. It had carried petroleum nitrate, but it was empty now. We were over the Tongue of the Ocean area— that’s part of the Bahamas— about 3 days out of Rico.
It was daytime, in the afternoon. I had been on the bridge for sometime since the morning, so I had gone to my cabin for a little rest which is just aft the bridge. While I was in my cabin, I heard a great deal of commotion coming from the bridge. The crew were hollering and screaming. I came running out onto the bridge and yelled “What the hell is going on here?!”
The chief officer was there, and he said ‘take a look at the compass, Cap.’
I walked over and looked. The gyro was spinning in a clockwise motion, and the magnetic compass was going completely bananas. I had never seen anything like it before. I knew a compass could tumble but never saw that on a boat. You just don’t get that much acceleration, especially on a tug. I had captained tugs since World War II, so I knew this was something weird. . . .The magnetic compass was simply going around and around.
“What the Hell is going on here?!”
It wasn’t the weather. The sea had been flat calm. Visibility had been good. It was somewhat cloudy but the clouds were high up. There were no storm clouds, cumulus and such.
We also had an electronic drain at this time, I guess you’d call it. Whatever it was, it drained everything. We had no communications of any kind over the radios. There were no lights. We lost the generators— they were running but produced no energy. There was just nothing. There was also a case of fifty batteries I had picked up in Rico that I just had to throw away. They were completely shot. This we found out later. We didn’t know this at the time.
During whatever this was, I went out on the bridge . . .I was going to check on the tug but the sky caught my attention first. There was no horizon now; You couldn’t see where the sky ended and the water began. It looked as if there was no ocean; and there was no sky. I mean, as if it were all one, blended together. I looked down on the ocean. All I saw was foam; it was like milk. The sky was the same color. There was just no definition between the two as there always is, so that’s why I say there was no horizon.
I automatically looked aft to the barge; it was a reflex reaction. But there was no barge! We had felt no snap. And we would have because if a barge like that had been severed from a tug pulling it with all its power, you’d take off like a scalded cat! I knew it had to be there but I couldn’t see it. The towline was leading back the way it was supposed to be, but there was simply no barge.
I ran to the after deck, then down to the towing deck, and started to pull the towing hawser— You can’t pull a 2,500 ton barge of course— but you can tell if something is attached. It was. The line was tight. It was very taught. There was something on the other end all right.
I still couldn’t see it though. There was a fog or something around it, like clouds, and the towline was running aft into that. I’ve likened it to the old Indian rope trick. The towline was just sticking out of a fog. . . but the fog was no where else. It was just around where the barge should be. The water was also more choppy immediately around where the barge should be.
That was enough for me! I ran back up to the bridge and kicked those throttles full ahead. It wasn’t like ‘full ahead and clear for action’: it was full ahead and let’s get the hell out of here!
I had heard about the Bermuda Triangle at this time; most every seaman about those waters had. I thought, my God I don’t want to be another statistic!
We plowed ahead . . .or tried to. It seemed that something was pulling us back. It was like being in the middle of two people pulling on your arms. We were trying to go forward under our power but we were being restrained. When you’ve been at sea for any amount of time, especially on tugs, you get a feel for it; you can tell when it is moving and when its being restrained; there is a vibration in a ship that is there all the time; you can tell when its going and when it isn’t.
Now coming out of this thing was just like coming out of a fog bank, gradual but steady. We could see the horizon again. We got everything back: the radios, the lights, the generators. We got the damn barge back. The line was leading back to it. That fog was gone.
I went back and tugged on the towline. The barge was solidly attached. We had a 3 and half inch towline on it and it hadn’t split. It was still intact.
We plowed ahead for some time. As soon as we got out of that spot, I went back to make sure everything was all right, that the line hadn’t weakened at the coupling during our struggle. I put a boat over the side and went back. The barge was warm, much warmer than it should have been. It wasn’t hot. I mean, you could touch it. But it was warmer, much warmer than would have been normal.
Like I’ve said, I was never leery about sailing the Bermuda Triangle afterward. It’s the thing that happened. The whole incident took only about, oh, I don’t know, 7 to 10 minutes, from the time I came onto the bridge until the barge came out of that fog. I mean, it scared the hell ot of me, but I’m not leery about going back down in there. You can’t avoid the area anyway. I’ve been captaining tugs and salvage operations from Puerto Rico to Canada. Its just something that happened and it made me into a ‘believer.’
Question: Had you ever experienced any changes like this in your compass before?
Not like this. I know they can spin around one complete time before coming on course again, if you pass over a large wreck or something. If you sit on a wreck they can go crazy. I salvaged Japanese warship wrecks in Tokyo Bay after the war so I know what it’s like. I’ve heard that compasses still spin over Iron Bottom Sound near Guadalcanal from all the ships that were sunk in the battles there.
A magnetic compass points toward true north from the magnetic pole, a gyro compass sets up its own magnetic field and points north. We later checked for a power flux that might have influenced the compass, but there had been any. We would keep a constant watch on our generator, to guard against that thing. If something like that goes unnoticed, you can go off course. In the Bahamas that can be bad since there are dangerous shallows.
Question: Where were you when this “weird experience,” as you call it, happened?
We were over the Tongue of the Ocean. It was over 3,000 feet deep where this happened.
Question: Did you think something extraordinary had happened?
Hell yes! I knew something big was going on, but once was enough! I couldn’t think of anything else but ‘My God, I’m next!”
The Recent Disappearances and Strange Occurrences
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
1976, October 13/15
SYLVIA L. OSSA - A 590 foot ore carrier disappeared approximately 140 miles west of Bermuda with a crew of 37
"The Changing Seaway" - Alfred F. Sagon-King & Skip Gillham
Originally named MARATHONIAN the SYLVIA L. OSSA operated under Panamanian registry and disappeared in heavy
seas west of Bermuda between October 13th and 15th. -
1991, August 28
AMERICAN AIRLINES INC AIRBUS - Makes emergency landing due to turbulence
Reuters
Hamilton, Bermuda, Aug 28 -- An American Airlines Inc Airbus made an emergency landing in Bermuda today after an
air pocket sent the aircraft plunging 1,000 feet, injuring about 30 people, passengers said. About 170 people were on
board Flight 1473 from New York (John F. Kennedy) International Airport to San Juan (Luis Munoz Morin) International
Airport, Puerto Rico, when it hit severe turbulence over the Atlantic. About 30 were treated at Bermuda hospitals for injuries,
including bruises and broken bones. The most serious cases involved three patients who suffered heart problems. One of
them was still in intensive care in hospital about six hours later, hospital spokesmen said. The aircraft's captain radioed to
Bermuda to alert ground crews for an emergency landing after the aircraft finally righted itself, airport officials said. -- .
1993, March 13
CHARLEY'S CRAB, CHARLES MUER - Restaurateur Charles Muer, his wife Betty and friends
George and Lynn Drummey disappear between the Bahamas and Florida on the Muer's 40 foot
ketch Charley's Crab in 30 foot seas with 70 mph winds in what is later referred to as
"the storm of the century". No trace of victims or wreckage was recovered.
http://www.sptimes.com/StormWatch/SW.3.1.html http://www.landrysseafood.com/financial/releases/press_021902.htm
1994, November 28
AMERICAN AIRLINES INC AIRBUS A300 - Battered by clear air turbulence over Martinique
Reuters
San Juan, PR, Nov 28 -- More than 40 people were injured, six seriously, when their American Airlines Inc Airbus A300 ran
into unexpected turbulence over the Caribbean today. A spokesman for the Dallas-based airline said 212 passengers and
nine crew members were on board Flight 1218 at about 1830, EST (2330, UTC), when the aircraft left Bridgetown Airport,
Barbados, for San Juan International Airport on the first leg of a trip to Boston. The aircraft encountered a pocket of clear air
turbulence, or turbulence not caused by a storm, above the island of Martinique, about 370 miles south-east of San Juan,
and dropped abruptly shortly after reaching its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. "I gather some of the passengers and flight
attendants were thrown around the cabin," said airline spokesman Don Bedwell. Forty-six people were taken to three San
Juan hospitals for observation, treatment of head wounds and other injuries including coffee burns. The spokesman said
about six people sustained serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. -- .
1995, March 20/24
JAMANIC K - A motor vessel (mv) of 357 gross tons, lost in route from Cape Haitian to Miami
Lloyd's Agents / Lloyd's Casualty List
London, Mar 24 -- Following received from Coast Guard Miami, timed 1451, UTC: Mv Jamanic K. (357 gt, built 1943)
overdue Cap Haitian to Miami since Mar 20. Honduran registry. --
1995, June 25
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES INC FLIGHT 207 - Flight encounters clear air turbulence
United Press International
San Juan, June 25 -- Twenty-two passengers on a flight to Puerto Rico were injured today when air turbulence caused violent
movements on the aircraft in which they were travelling. Continental Airlines Inc Flight 207, which was carrying 257 passengers
from Newark, New Jersey, to San Juan, experienced the turbulence at about the mid-point of the flight. Authorities in the Puerto
Rican capital were advised, and emergency medical workers were waiting at the San Juan airport on the aircraft's arrival to help
treat the injured. Herman Sulsona, the head of the Puerto Rico Port Authority, said the problem was caused by "clear air turbulence,
a phenomenon of turbulence which can't be predicted because it doesn't show up on the radars." Sulsona said most of the 22
people injured, mainly young adults and children, suffered only minor bruises, but that four had neck injuries. Most were brought to
San Juan hospitals. Jose Rodriguez, a passenger on the flight, said in reports in San Juan that when the aircraft experienced the
turbulence, it dropped suddenly and then suddenly rose up again, causing passengers to fly from their seats.
-- .
1996, October, 14
INTREPID - A 65 foot yacht missing thirty miles off Fort Pierce, Florida after issuing a quick MAYDAY.
Reuters
Miami, Oct 14 -- Sixteen people were missing after reporting last night that they were abandoning their sinking yacht
off Fort Pierce, Florida, the Coast Guard said today. The Coast Guard said yacht Intrepid, 65-foot length, sent out
a distress call saying she was sinking and everyone on board was escaping on a life raft. The Coast Guard said four
aircraft searched all night for the life raft and today two aircraft and a cutter were still looking for her, about 30 miles off
Fort Pierce, on Florida's east coast north of Palm Beach. The Coast Guard said seas in the area were rough with waves
up to seven feet high. -- .
Reuters
Miami, Oct 14 -- The US Coast Guard gave up the search today for 16 people who went missing after reporting last night
they were abandoning sinking yacht Intrepid off Fort Pierce, Florida, a Coast Guard spokesman said. The Coast Guard
said the crew of Intrepid, sent out a distress call saying she was sinking and everyone on board was escaping on a life raft.
They had no information of the yacht's home port or nationality of the crew. Coast Guard Lt. Robert Engle said the search
was suspended late this afternoon, after crews had searched 6,000 sq. miles of water about 30 miles off Fort Pierce, on
Florida's east coast north of Palm Beach. -- .
1996, January 17
AMERICAN AIRLINES INC AIRBUS A300 - Hit by heavy turbulence over the Bahamas
United Press International
San Juan, PR, Jan 17 -- Twenty-six passengers were injured today when an American Airlines Inc Airbus A300 hit heavy
turbulence over the Bahamas on a flight from Miami to Puerto Rico, officials said. Flight 869 was 100 miles east of Nassau,
in the Bahamas, when it struck the severe turbulence at 33,000 feet, aviation authorities said. American Airlines spokesman
Gus Whitcom said three of the injured were badly hurt, and were rushed to hospitals after the plane landed at Puerto Rico's
Luis Munoz Marin International Airport this afternoon. Two were placed on stretchers, with neck braces, and transported by
helicopter to the Ashford Hospital in the Condado tourist zone. A 10-month-old baby was also taken to the hospital with a
suspected broken collarbone. Twelve others were taken to hospitals for checks, while 11 suffered only minor injuries. All
received treatment on board the aircraft, which was carrying 268 passengers and nine crew members. Witnesses said most
of the injuries in the head, neck and back areas. The mother of the baby, who identified herself only as Mrs. Maxwell, said "I
had him on my lap, and suddenly, the turbulence tossed him into the air inside the cabin." -- .
top
1999, April 15
MISS FERNANDINA - An 85 foot shrimp trawler lost off Flagler Beach, Florida
Lloyd's Agents / Lloyd's Casualty List
London, Apr 23 -- A Press report, dated Port Canaveral Apr 22, states: A U.S. Coast Guard search for missing
85-ft shrimp trawler Miss Fernandina, and her four-member crew was called off last night after six days of
round-the-clock air and water searches. Miss Fernandina left Port Canaveral early Thursday (Apr 15) morning. That night,
the vessel's owner and master called a fellow shrimper to request assistance because his nets had become tangled in his
propeller. The master, Kenny Jones, 39, of Fernandina Beach, said the vessel was also experiencing electrical difficulty
and listing slightly. When the other vessel arrived at the reported location of Miss Fernandina, 65 miles east of Flagler
Beach, there was no sign of the shrimper or her crew. Seas were running 6 to 8 feet and winds were 25 miles per hour
in the area, the Coast Guard reported. The Coast Guard launched its search next morning. During the 136 hours of
searching, three Coast Guard vessels, one jet, 10 other planes and four helicopters were used to scour a 75,000-square
mile area. The search was called off yesterday at nightfall with Mayport commander Lt. Cmdr. James Rendon saying
they had "exhausted all efforts." A Coast Guard plane spotted what was thought to be debris from the vessel Tuesday.
Two people were also seen in the water, floating face down. Neither made any response to the plane's repeated efforts
to rouse them. The plane, low on fuel, used a marker to help identify the spot, refueled and returned to the search with
additional vessels and aircraft. The marker was located, but the bodies have not been seen again.
1999, April 23
GENESIS - A motor vessel (mv) of 196 gross tons that disappeared in route from Port of Spain, Trinidad to St. Vincent
Lloyd's Agents / Lloyd's Casualty List
Port of Spain, May 12 -- A local press report, dated today, states: M research vessel Genesis (196 gt, built 1967),
Trinidad for St. Vincent with 465 tons of cargo, including concrete slabs, bricks and water tanks, has disappeared
without a trace. The vessel, with three crew, is believed to have sunk about 21 miles off the coast of St. Vincent.
The vessel sailed Port of Spain Apr 23. Coast Guard sources said the Genesis radioed a nearby vessel, MV Survivor,
around 1730 hrs, saying their bilge pump had pulled in a rag and that they were switching to the gas pump to rectify
the situation. The vessel has not been heard from or seen since. After days of searches by the Coast Guard covering
33,100 square miles both in and out of local waters, the men are now feared dead. International Freight Consolidators
Ltd at Independence Square, Port of Spain, are the agents for the vessel. --
1999, June 14
CESSNA 210 - Drops off radar from Freeport to Nassau
Lloyd's Agents / Lloyd's Casualty List
London, Jun 14 -- Following received from Coast Guard Miami, dated Jun 11: The crew of a Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk
helicopter is searching for two people after their single-engine airplane disappeared from the radar screen, about three
miles north of Great Harbor Cay, Bahamas. The Nassau Air Traffic Control Tower notified the Coast Guard Command
Center in Miami at 1447, today, that a Cessna 210 was missing. The aircraft was en route to Freeport, Bahamas from Nassau.
The aircraft reportedly had six lifejackets on board. --
1999, July 8
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES BOEING 737-800 - Forced to make emergency landing in Bermuda due to turbulence
Reuters
Hamilton, Bermuda, Jul 8 -- Dozens of people on a Continental Airlines flight suffered minor injuries when their
Boeing 737-800 ran into severe turbulence over the Atlantic and was forced to make an emergency landing in
Bermuda today, officials said. Continental Flight 743, en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Newark, New
Jersey, with 159 people on board, was flying about 180 miles southeast of Bermuda at about 29,000 feet when
it hit the turbulence, an airline spokeswoman said. Fifty-nine passengers and all four flight attendants on board
were taken to Bermuda's King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries, and four were being
held for observation, a hospital spokeswoman said. "The majority of them are complaining of neck pain and neck
injuries, and there are bruises and scrapes," hospital spokeswoman Sheila Manderson said. The plane left Newark
at 1220, EDT, with 153 passengers and six crew members aboard. It made its emergency landing at Bermuda
International Airport at about 1604, Atlantic time, she said. Passengers who were not injured were being taken to
local hotels and would continue their trip to Puerto Rico tomorrow Continental spokeswoman Karla Villalone said.
"Obviously, we're checking out the plane as a precaution, and we'll bring in a new plane overnight to take the
passengers on to San Juan," she said. -- .
2001, March 26
COMAIR FLIGHT 5054 - Ice damage on the flight from Nassau to Orlando, Florida
Reuters
Washington, Mar 26 -- A Comair aircraft with 25 passengers on board rolled from side and side and dived steeply last week
after the crew reported a build-up of ice on the aircraft, safety investigators said today. The aircraft landed safely in West Palm
Beach, Florida, and no one was injured, but key tail components of the Brazilian-made Embraer-120 propeller-driven aircraft
sustained serious damage, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report on the Mar 19 incident. Comair Flight
5054 from Nassau, Bahamas, to Orlando, Florida, was at 18,000 feet when ice covered the aircraft's windshield. When the
windshield was clear, the crew noticed a build-up of ice on components of the right engine and wing, the safety board said in
its report. The crew turned on the aircraft's anti-icing systems to their highest settings. The aircraft, which had been travelling
at 200 knots, began to lose speed, which could not be increased with more power and corrective maneuvers. The flight data
recorder showed that while travelling around 130 knots the aircraft rolled to the left and almost back to level. The aircraft then
rolled to the left again before almost leveling off and then to the right before coming back to near level once more. The EMB-120
then rolled sharply to its right and began a steep descent. According to the crew, a key flight instrument that delivers information
about the vertical position of the nose was not working properly during the roll and dive. At 10,000 feet, the aircraft leveled off
and was diverted to West Palm Beach. It landed without incident about 12 minutes after the rolling began. The crew reported
the aircraft's systems, including its ice detection and anti-ice systems, functioned normally before the incident. -- .
top
SYLVIA L. OSSA - A 590 foot ore carrier disappeared approximately 140 miles west of Bermuda with a crew of 37
"The Changing Seaway" - Alfred F. Sagon-King & Skip Gillham
Originally named MARATHONIAN the SYLVIA L. OSSA operated under Panamanian registry and disappeared in heavy
seas west of Bermuda between October 13th and 15th. -
1991, August 28
AMERICAN AIRLINES INC AIRBUS - Makes emergency landing due to turbulence
Reuters
Hamilton, Bermuda, Aug 28 -- An American Airlines Inc Airbus made an emergency landing in Bermuda today after an
air pocket sent the aircraft plunging 1,000 feet, injuring about 30 people, passengers said. About 170 people were on
board Flight 1473 from New York (John F. Kennedy) International Airport to San Juan (Luis Munoz Morin) International
Airport, Puerto Rico, when it hit severe turbulence over the Atlantic. About 30 were treated at Bermuda hospitals for injuries,
including bruises and broken bones. The most serious cases involved three patients who suffered heart problems. One of
them was still in intensive care in hospital about six hours later, hospital spokesmen said. The aircraft's captain radioed to
Bermuda to alert ground crews for an emergency landing after the aircraft finally righted itself, airport officials said. -- .
1993, March 13
CHARLEY'S CRAB, CHARLES MUER - Restaurateur Charles Muer, his wife Betty and friends
George and Lynn Drummey disappear between the Bahamas and Florida on the Muer's 40 foot
ketch Charley's Crab in 30 foot seas with 70 mph winds in what is later referred to as
"the storm of the century". No trace of victims or wreckage was recovered.
http://www.sptimes.com/StormWatch/SW.3.1.html http://www.landrysseafood.com/financial/releases/press_021902.htm
1994, November 28
AMERICAN AIRLINES INC AIRBUS A300 - Battered by clear air turbulence over Martinique
Reuters
San Juan, PR, Nov 28 -- More than 40 people were injured, six seriously, when their American Airlines Inc Airbus A300 ran
into unexpected turbulence over the Caribbean today. A spokesman for the Dallas-based airline said 212 passengers and
nine crew members were on board Flight 1218 at about 1830, EST (2330, UTC), when the aircraft left Bridgetown Airport,
Barbados, for San Juan International Airport on the first leg of a trip to Boston. The aircraft encountered a pocket of clear air
turbulence, or turbulence not caused by a storm, above the island of Martinique, about 370 miles south-east of San Juan,
and dropped abruptly shortly after reaching its cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. "I gather some of the passengers and flight
attendants were thrown around the cabin," said airline spokesman Don Bedwell. Forty-six people were taken to three San
Juan hospitals for observation, treatment of head wounds and other injuries including coffee burns. The spokesman said
about six people sustained serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. -- .
1995, March 20/24
JAMANIC K - A motor vessel (mv) of 357 gross tons, lost in route from Cape Haitian to Miami
Lloyd's Agents / Lloyd's Casualty List
London, Mar 24 -- Following received from Coast Guard Miami, timed 1451, UTC: Mv Jamanic K. (357 gt, built 1943)
overdue Cap Haitian to Miami since Mar 20. Honduran registry. --
1995, June 25
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES INC FLIGHT 207 - Flight encounters clear air turbulence
United Press International
San Juan, June 25 -- Twenty-two passengers on a flight to Puerto Rico were injured today when air turbulence caused violent
movements on the aircraft in which they were travelling. Continental Airlines Inc Flight 207, which was carrying 257 passengers
from Newark, New Jersey, to San Juan, experienced the turbulence at about the mid-point of the flight. Authorities in the Puerto
Rican capital were advised, and emergency medical workers were waiting at the San Juan airport on the aircraft's arrival to help
treat the injured. Herman Sulsona, the head of the Puerto Rico Port Authority, said the problem was caused by "clear air turbulence,
a phenomenon of turbulence which can't be predicted because it doesn't show up on the radars." Sulsona said most of the 22
people injured, mainly young adults and children, suffered only minor bruises, but that four had neck injuries. Most were brought to
San Juan hospitals. Jose Rodriguez, a passenger on the flight, said in reports in San Juan that when the aircraft experienced the
turbulence, it dropped suddenly and then suddenly rose up again, causing passengers to fly from their seats.
-- .
1996, October, 14
INTREPID - A 65 foot yacht missing thirty miles off Fort Pierce, Florida after issuing a quick MAYDAY.
Reuters
Miami, Oct 14 -- Sixteen people were missing after reporting last night that they were abandoning their sinking yacht
off Fort Pierce, Florida, the Coast Guard said today. The Coast Guard said yacht Intrepid, 65-foot length, sent out
a distress call saying she was sinking and everyone on board was escaping on a life raft. The Coast Guard said four
aircraft searched all night for the life raft and today two aircraft and a cutter were still looking for her, about 30 miles off
Fort Pierce, on Florida's east coast north of Palm Beach. The Coast Guard said seas in the area were rough with waves
up to seven feet high. -- .
Reuters
Miami, Oct 14 -- The US Coast Guard gave up the search today for 16 people who went missing after reporting last night
they were abandoning sinking yacht Intrepid off Fort Pierce, Florida, a Coast Guard spokesman said. The Coast Guard
said the crew of Intrepid, sent out a distress call saying she was sinking and everyone on board was escaping on a life raft.
They had no information of the yacht's home port or nationality of the crew. Coast Guard Lt. Robert Engle said the search
was suspended late this afternoon, after crews had searched 6,000 sq. miles of water about 30 miles off Fort Pierce, on
Florida's east coast north of Palm Beach. -- .
1996, January 17
AMERICAN AIRLINES INC AIRBUS A300 - Hit by heavy turbulence over the Bahamas
United Press International
San Juan, PR, Jan 17 -- Twenty-six passengers were injured today when an American Airlines Inc Airbus A300 hit heavy
turbulence over the Bahamas on a flight from Miami to Puerto Rico, officials said. Flight 869 was 100 miles east of Nassau,
in the Bahamas, when it struck the severe turbulence at 33,000 feet, aviation authorities said. American Airlines spokesman
Gus Whitcom said three of the injured were badly hurt, and were rushed to hospitals after the plane landed at Puerto Rico's
Luis Munoz Marin International Airport this afternoon. Two were placed on stretchers, with neck braces, and transported by
helicopter to the Ashford Hospital in the Condado tourist zone. A 10-month-old baby was also taken to the hospital with a
suspected broken collarbone. Twelve others were taken to hospitals for checks, while 11 suffered only minor injuries. All
received treatment on board the aircraft, which was carrying 268 passengers and nine crew members. Witnesses said most
of the injuries in the head, neck and back areas. The mother of the baby, who identified herself only as Mrs. Maxwell, said "I
had him on my lap, and suddenly, the turbulence tossed him into the air inside the cabin." -- .
top
1999, April 15
MISS FERNANDINA - An 85 foot shrimp trawler lost off Flagler Beach, Florida
Lloyd's Agents / Lloyd's Casualty List
London, Apr 23 -- A Press report, dated Port Canaveral Apr 22, states: A U.S. Coast Guard search for missing
85-ft shrimp trawler Miss Fernandina, and her four-member crew was called off last night after six days of
round-the-clock air and water searches. Miss Fernandina left Port Canaveral early Thursday (Apr 15) morning. That night,
the vessel's owner and master called a fellow shrimper to request assistance because his nets had become tangled in his
propeller. The master, Kenny Jones, 39, of Fernandina Beach, said the vessel was also experiencing electrical difficulty
and listing slightly. When the other vessel arrived at the reported location of Miss Fernandina, 65 miles east of Flagler
Beach, there was no sign of the shrimper or her crew. Seas were running 6 to 8 feet and winds were 25 miles per hour
in the area, the Coast Guard reported. The Coast Guard launched its search next morning. During the 136 hours of
searching, three Coast Guard vessels, one jet, 10 other planes and four helicopters were used to scour a 75,000-square
mile area. The search was called off yesterday at nightfall with Mayport commander Lt. Cmdr. James Rendon saying
they had "exhausted all efforts." A Coast Guard plane spotted what was thought to be debris from the vessel Tuesday.
Two people were also seen in the water, floating face down. Neither made any response to the plane's repeated efforts
to rouse them. The plane, low on fuel, used a marker to help identify the spot, refueled and returned to the search with
additional vessels and aircraft. The marker was located, but the bodies have not been seen again.
1999, April 23
GENESIS - A motor vessel (mv) of 196 gross tons that disappeared in route from Port of Spain, Trinidad to St. Vincent
Lloyd's Agents / Lloyd's Casualty List
Port of Spain, May 12 -- A local press report, dated today, states: M research vessel Genesis (196 gt, built 1967),
Trinidad for St. Vincent with 465 tons of cargo, including concrete slabs, bricks and water tanks, has disappeared
without a trace. The vessel, with three crew, is believed to have sunk about 21 miles off the coast of St. Vincent.
The vessel sailed Port of Spain Apr 23. Coast Guard sources said the Genesis radioed a nearby vessel, MV Survivor,
around 1730 hrs, saying their bilge pump had pulled in a rag and that they were switching to the gas pump to rectify
the situation. The vessel has not been heard from or seen since. After days of searches by the Coast Guard covering
33,100 square miles both in and out of local waters, the men are now feared dead. International Freight Consolidators
Ltd at Independence Square, Port of Spain, are the agents for the vessel. --
1999, June 14
CESSNA 210 - Drops off radar from Freeport to Nassau
Lloyd's Agents / Lloyd's Casualty List
London, Jun 14 -- Following received from Coast Guard Miami, dated Jun 11: The crew of a Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk
helicopter is searching for two people after their single-engine airplane disappeared from the radar screen, about three
miles north of Great Harbor Cay, Bahamas. The Nassau Air Traffic Control Tower notified the Coast Guard Command
Center in Miami at 1447, today, that a Cessna 210 was missing. The aircraft was en route to Freeport, Bahamas from Nassau.
The aircraft reportedly had six lifejackets on board. --
1999, July 8
CONTINENTAL AIRLINES BOEING 737-800 - Forced to make emergency landing in Bermuda due to turbulence
Reuters
Hamilton, Bermuda, Jul 8 -- Dozens of people on a Continental Airlines flight suffered minor injuries when their
Boeing 737-800 ran into severe turbulence over the Atlantic and was forced to make an emergency landing in
Bermuda today, officials said. Continental Flight 743, en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, from Newark, New
Jersey, with 159 people on board, was flying about 180 miles southeast of Bermuda at about 29,000 feet when
it hit the turbulence, an airline spokeswoman said. Fifty-nine passengers and all four flight attendants on board
were taken to Bermuda's King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries, and four were being
held for observation, a hospital spokeswoman said. "The majority of them are complaining of neck pain and neck
injuries, and there are bruises and scrapes," hospital spokeswoman Sheila Manderson said. The plane left Newark
at 1220, EDT, with 153 passengers and six crew members aboard. It made its emergency landing at Bermuda
International Airport at about 1604, Atlantic time, she said. Passengers who were not injured were being taken to
local hotels and would continue their trip to Puerto Rico tomorrow Continental spokeswoman Karla Villalone said.
"Obviously, we're checking out the plane as a precaution, and we'll bring in a new plane overnight to take the
passengers on to San Juan," she said. -- .
2001, March 26
COMAIR FLIGHT 5054 - Ice damage on the flight from Nassau to Orlando, Florida
Reuters
Washington, Mar 26 -- A Comair aircraft with 25 passengers on board rolled from side and side and dived steeply last week
after the crew reported a build-up of ice on the aircraft, safety investigators said today. The aircraft landed safely in West Palm
Beach, Florida, and no one was injured, but key tail components of the Brazilian-made Embraer-120 propeller-driven aircraft
sustained serious damage, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report on the Mar 19 incident. Comair Flight
5054 from Nassau, Bahamas, to Orlando, Florida, was at 18,000 feet when ice covered the aircraft's windshield. When the
windshield was clear, the crew noticed a build-up of ice on components of the right engine and wing, the safety board said in
its report. The crew turned on the aircraft's anti-icing systems to their highest settings. The aircraft, which had been travelling
at 200 knots, began to lose speed, which could not be increased with more power and corrective maneuvers. The flight data
recorder showed that while travelling around 130 knots the aircraft rolled to the left and almost back to level. The aircraft then
rolled to the left again before almost leveling off and then to the right before coming back to near level once more. The EMB-120
then rolled sharply to its right and began a steep descent. According to the crew, a key flight instrument that delivers information
about the vertical position of the nose was not working properly during the roll and dive. At 10,000 feet, the aircraft leveled off
and was diverted to West Palm Beach. It landed without incident about 12 minutes after the rolling began. The crew reported
the aircraft's systems, including its ice detection and anti-ice systems, functioned normally before the incident. -- .
top
Disappearances and Strange Occurrences - 1951 to 1975
1951, October 3-4
SAO PAULO - Brazilian Warship, De-commisioned
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin.
1953, February 2
BRITISH YORK - Transport plane
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1954, October 30
NAVY SUPER CONSTELLATION - From Patuxent River Naval Air Station to the Azores
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer
1954, December 5 top
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS - Converted navy LST
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
Refers to the date as December 7th.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Reports that the cargo was a load of Sulfur.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer
United States Coast Guard Report - SOUTHERN DISTRICTS - a-8 Bd
The SOUTHERN DISTRICTS, propelled by internal combustion engines, of 3338 g.t., a former U. S. Navy LST, built in Leavenworth, Kansas
in 1944 and converted during 1949 for the carriage of bulk cargo in coastwise merchant service, departed from Port Sulphur, Louisiana, on
2 December 1954 with a full load of bulk sulphur destined for Bucksport, Maine. At 1530 on 5 December 1954 the SOUTHERN DISTRICTS
was in radio communication with WOE RCA Station and at approximately the same time was overtaken and passed by the GULF KEYS.
During the night of 5 December off the Florida and Carolina coasts the wind from a southeasterly direction reached force 7, shifting the next
day to a northerly, force 8, accompanied by squalls with gusts of force 9 and rough seas. The weather conditions moderated on 7 December.
The SOUTHERN DISTRICTS was expected to arrive at Bucksport on 7 or 8 December and the master was to report 72 hours in advance of
the estimated time of arrival. No word was received from nor was the SOUTHERN DISTRICTS sighted and identified at any time subsequent
to 1600 5 December 1954. The owners, after making due allowance for bad weather, endeavored on 9 December 1954 to communicate with
the SOUTHERN DISTRICTS by radio. At 2130 11 December, the owners informed the Coast Guard of their failure to reach or receive word
from the SOUTHERN DISTRICTS, whereupon the Coast Guard instituted a communications, surface and air search which continued until
20 December with negative results. It is evident that the SOUTHERN DISTRICTS was overcome by casualty sometime after 1600 5 December
1954 and that her entire crew comprising 23 officers and seamen, perished with the vessel. Ernest M. Rowe, Master - Thomas B. Roane,
Chief Mate - James B. Downing, 2nd Mate - Dwight L. Hudson, 3rd Mate - George G Folk, Radio Operator - Walter H. Jennette, Chief Engineer -
Elbano Opffer, 1st Asst. Engineer - Marvin L. Carder, 2nd Asst. Engineer - Cecil L. Parrish Jr., 3rd Asst. Engineer - James B. Sellers, AB -
Wladyslau Hinc, AB - Satinios Gelardlinos, O.S. - John Daniels, O.S. - Victoriano R. Martinez, 2nd Cook - William T. Cooper, Oiler - James
H. Brandon, Messman - Louie B. Cook, Oiler - F. J. Farneigho Jr., Messman - Herbert Klotz, AB - Purdon A. Morris, Oiler - Thomas T. Nichols,
AB - Billy E. Nolan, AB - S. B. Thomas, Chief Cook.
1955, January
HOME SWEET HOME - Schooner
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1955, September 26
CONNEMARA IV - Motor yacht found abandoned
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1956 top
MARINE SKY RAIDER
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
1956, November 9
NAVY PATROL BOMBER, MARTIN MARLIN, P5M - Twin engine patrol flying boat, 350 miles north of Bermuda.
no debris recovered, crew of 10.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1957
SANDRA - See also: 1950, June
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey
1958, January 1
REVONOC - A 44' yawl disappears in bad weather from Key West to the Caribean with Harvey Conover on board.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
Refers to the date as January 7th, 1958.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 102
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 144.
1962 top
PLANE - Unknown small plane over Nassau
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 146
A report of a pilot of a small plane over Nassau who can not see the land he is over, but is seen and heard by those on the ground.
1962, January 8
PLANE, KB-50J AIR TANKER - Langley,Virginia to the Azores.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 78
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 39.
1962, April
PLANE, PIPER APACHE
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
1963, February 4
MARINE SULFUR QUEEN - A 523' type T2-SE-A1 tanker with a load of molten sulfur.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin, Page 52
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche, Page 305
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 132.
1963, July 2 top
SNO BOY - 63 foot chartered fishing boat lost with 55 on board, possible wreckage found.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin, .
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche,
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1963, August 28
KC-135, 2 AIRPLANES - Two airplanes lost, possible mid-air collision.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche,
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1963, September 22
C-133 CARGOMASTER AIRPLANE - Lost between Dover, Delaware and the Azores.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
1964
CRYSTAL - Reported missing in 1964, found in July of 1968, 4 years after being reported missing.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 69.
DANCING FEATHER - A 39 foot ketch.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
1964, January 13 top
ENCHANTRESS - A 59 foot yacht that disappeared during bad weather and gale warnings approximatley 150 miles S/E of Charleston.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey.
1965, June 5
C-119 FLYING BOXCAR AIRPLANE - Lost from Homestead Air Base to Grand Turk.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
Reported to have a cargo of airplane parts.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1965, October 28
EL GATO - 45 foot catamaran houseboat.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1966, October 29
SOUTHERN CITIES - A 67 foot harbor tug lost in the Gulf of Mexico. The SOUTHERN CITIES had problems on three other occasions
causing the NTSB and Coast Guard to blame her lack of "seaworthiness" for her disappearance.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
National Transportation Safety Board
This accident was investigated by the U. S. Coast Guard. The Marine Board of Investigation was conducted in a public proceeding in Houston,
Texas, beginning November 14, 1966. The Coast Guard report of that investigation and the Commandant's action thereon is included in and made
a part of this report. The NTSB has considered those facts in the Cost Guard report and came to the following conclusion: The NTSB finds that
the basic cause of the accident with the attendant loss of life was the unseaworthiness of the vessel for it's employment. Vessels of this type,
designed for service on inland waters, are extremely vulnerable to the perils of the sea when operating on unsheltered waters and distant from
a harbor of safe refuge.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
U. S. Coast Guard Report: 5943/SOUTHERN CITIES A-8 Bd, 17 January, 1968
The M/V SOUTHERN CITIES bound on a voyage to Tuxpan, Mexico was lost at sea in the Gulf of Mexico with six crewmembers on board
after having departed Freeport, Texas on the evening of 29 October 1966 towing loaded barge B-1800 on a hawser. other vessels in the Gulf
of Mexico reported winds from the Northwest at 30 to 40 knots with seas 91/2 to 13 feet. The last communication was received from SOUTHERN
CITIES at approximately 0630 (+6 zone time) on November 1 1966 when, in the morning report to the owner she indicated her position to be
latitude 24º 30' north, longitude 96º 40' west. The SOUTHERN CITIES failed to make her scheduled daily report on the morning of 2 November
1966. Although not yet overdue, when no position report was received from the SOUTHERN CITIES on the morning of 3 November 1966, the
owner reported to the U. S. Coast Guard rescue coordination center New Orleans, Louisiana that there had been no communication from
the vessel in the previous 48 hours and requested Coast Guard assistance in locating and establishing communication with the SOUTHERN
CITIES. A search was made along the probable route of the tow by a Coast Guard aircraft with negative results. When no report was received
from the SOUTHERN CITIES on November 4 1966 an intensive search by CG aircraft and a CG vessel was commenced at the request of the
vessels owner. The search, covering 84,600 square miles, continued until November 8, 1966. During the search, barge B-1800 was located
at 0833 on November 5 drifting approximately 105 miles north of Tuxpan, Mexico. The barge was undamaged with her cargo intact and the
tow line was still made fast. A life preserver, a broken section of the name board, and a ring buoy from SOUTHERN CITIES were later found
at various positions. No other debris or equipment was located None of the crew of six have ever been found. Grady A. Reynolds, Master -
Victor L. Benton, Mate - Clyde Wesley Sparkman, Engineer - George R. Johnson, Deckhand - Buddy Lee, Deckhand - Thomas E Rollins,
Deckhand.
1967, January 11, Also refered to as "Black Week"
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
CHASE YC-122 AIRPLANE - A cargo plane.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
LIGHT AIRPLANE - Piloted by Phillip Quigley.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
PIPER APACHE AIRPLANE - Piloted by John D. Walston.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
1967, January 12 top
PIPER APACHE AIRPLANE
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1967, January 14
BEECHCRAFT BONANZA AIRPLANE - Piloted by Robert Van Westerbork.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1967,December
WITCHCRAFT - A 23 foot cabin cruiser that disappeared a mile offshore of Miami near the number 7 buoy about 9pm.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey,
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1968, May 21 - On or about.
SCORPION, USN SUBMARINE - Number SSN 589, Skipjack class. This was the sixth Scorpion. It was laid down on August 20th,
1958, at Groton, Connecticut at the General Dynamics Corp. Electric Boat Division. The Scorpion launched on the 19th of December, 1959.
The ship was sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth S. Morrison and was commissioned on July 29th, 1960 under Commander Norman B. Bessac.
The Scorpion displaced 3,075 tons on the surface and 3,500 tons when submerged. The ships beam was 31' 7" and it's length was 251' 9".
The armament consisted of 6 torpedo tubes with a payload of ?? torpedoes
Assigned to Submarine Squadron 6, Division 62, Scorpion departed New London, Conn., on 24 August for a two-month deployment in
European waters. During that period, she participated in exercises with units of the 6th Fleet and of other NATO [North Atlantic Treaty
Organization] navies. After returning to New England in late October, she trained along the eastern seaboard until May 1961, then crossed
the Atlantic again for operations which took her into the summer. On 9 August, she returned to New London and, a month later, shifted
to Norfolk, Va.
With Norfolk her home port for the remainder of her career, Scorpion specialized in the development of nuclear submarine warfare tactics.
Varying her role from hunter to hunted, she participated in exercises which ranged along the Atlantic coast and in the Bermuda and
Puerto Rican operating areas; then, from June 1963 to May 1964, she interrupted her operations for an overhaul at Charleston, S.C.
Resuming duty off the eastern seaboard in late spring, she again interrupted that duty from 4 August to 8 October to make a transatlantic
patrol. In the spring of 1965, she conducted a similar patrol in European waters.
During the late winter and early spring of 1966, and again in the fall, she was deployed for special operations. Following the completion
of those assignments, her commanding officer received the Navy Commendation Medal for outstanding leadership, foresight, and professional
skill. Other Scorpion officers and men were cited for meritorious achievement.
On 1 February 1967, Scorpion entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for another extended overhaul. In late October, she commenced refresher
training and weapons system acceptance tests. Following type training out of Norfolk, she got underway on 15 February 1968 for a
Mediterranean deployment. She operated with the 6th Fleet, into May, and then headed west for home. On 21 May, she indicated her position
to be about 50 miles south of the Azores. Six days later, she was reported overdue at Norfolk.
A search was initiated, but, on 5 June, Scorpion and her crew were declared "presumed lost." Her name was struck from the Navy list on
30 June.
The search continued, however; and, at the end of October, the Navy's oceanographic research ship, Mizar (T-AGOR-11) located sections
of Scorpion's hull in more than 10,000 feet of water about 400 miles southwest of the Azores. Subsequently, the Court of Inquiry was
reconvened and other vessels, including the submersible Trieste were dispatched to the scene and collected a myriad of pictures and other data.
Although the cause of her loss is still not ascertainable, the most probable event was the inadvertent activation of the battery of a Mark 37
torpedo during a torpedo inspection. The torpedo, in a fully ready condition and without a propeller guard, then began a live "hot run" within
the tube. Released from the tube, the torpedo became fully armed and successfully engaged its nearest target, Scorpion. Alternatively, the
torpedo may have exploded in the tube owing to an uncontrollable fire in the torpedo room.
The explosion--recorded elsewhere as a very loud acoustic event--broke the boat into two major pieces, with the forward hull section, including
the torpedo room and most of the operations compartment, creating one impact trench while the aft section, including the reactor compartment
and engine room, created a second impact trench. The sail is detached and lies nearby in a large debris field.
Owing to the pressurized-water nuclear reactor in the engine room, deep ocean radiological monitoring operations were conducted in August
and September 1986. The site had been previously monitored in 1968 and 1979 and none of the samples obtained showed any evidence of
release of radioactivity.
.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey,
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
"The Cousteau Almanac" - Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
1969, March 3 top
BEECHCRAFT AIRPLANE
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
1969, MARCH 23
BEECHCRAFT AIRPLANE - Possibly the same as the March 3rd airplane. lost with Dr. James Horton and
Dr. Charles Griggs. A twin engine airplane lost en route from Kingston to Nassau.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1969, June 7
CESSNA 172 AIRPLANE - Lost with Miss Cascio and Mr. Rosen onboard. The pilot can not see land while flying over it,
but the plane is observed from the ground.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1969, July
TEIGNMOUTH ELECTRON - A 41 foot trimaran skipperd by Donald Crowhurst, found abandoned in mid atlantic.
No trace of Crowhurst was ever found.
Discovery of the TEIGNMOUTH ELECTRON
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
ABANDONED CRAFT - A 60' white hulled yacht found keel up several hundred miles N/E of Bermuda by the ship MAPLEBANK.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
1969, July 2 top
VAGABOND - Found abandoned by the GOLAR FROST in the mid atlantic.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1969, July 4
UNIDENTIFIED ABANDONED 35 FOOT YACHT - Sighted by the COTOPAXI
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
1969, July 8
ABANDONED CRAFT - 36 Foot upturned hull found by HELISOMA between the Azores and Portugal
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
1969, September
LIGHT TWIN ENGINE PLANE - Mr. and Mrs. Hector Guzman are listed on board.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, gives the month as October.
1969, November 2
SOUTHERN CROSS - Yacht discovered abandoned 10 miles N.E. of Cape May, New Jersey.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer,
SAO PAULO - Brazilian Warship, De-commisioned
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin.
1953, February 2
BRITISH YORK - Transport plane
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1954, October 30
NAVY SUPER CONSTELLATION - From Patuxent River Naval Air Station to the Azores
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer
1954, December 5 top
SOUTHERN DISTRICTS - Converted navy LST
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
Refers to the date as December 7th.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
Reports that the cargo was a load of Sulfur.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer
United States Coast Guard Report - SOUTHERN DISTRICTS - a-8 Bd
The SOUTHERN DISTRICTS, propelled by internal combustion engines, of 3338 g.t., a former U. S. Navy LST, built in Leavenworth, Kansas
in 1944 and converted during 1949 for the carriage of bulk cargo in coastwise merchant service, departed from Port Sulphur, Louisiana, on
2 December 1954 with a full load of bulk sulphur destined for Bucksport, Maine. At 1530 on 5 December 1954 the SOUTHERN DISTRICTS
was in radio communication with WOE RCA Station and at approximately the same time was overtaken and passed by the GULF KEYS.
During the night of 5 December off the Florida and Carolina coasts the wind from a southeasterly direction reached force 7, shifting the next
day to a northerly, force 8, accompanied by squalls with gusts of force 9 and rough seas. The weather conditions moderated on 7 December.
The SOUTHERN DISTRICTS was expected to arrive at Bucksport on 7 or 8 December and the master was to report 72 hours in advance of
the estimated time of arrival. No word was received from nor was the SOUTHERN DISTRICTS sighted and identified at any time subsequent
to 1600 5 December 1954. The owners, after making due allowance for bad weather, endeavored on 9 December 1954 to communicate with
the SOUTHERN DISTRICTS by radio. At 2130 11 December, the owners informed the Coast Guard of their failure to reach or receive word
from the SOUTHERN DISTRICTS, whereupon the Coast Guard instituted a communications, surface and air search which continued until
20 December with negative results. It is evident that the SOUTHERN DISTRICTS was overcome by casualty sometime after 1600 5 December
1954 and that her entire crew comprising 23 officers and seamen, perished with the vessel. Ernest M. Rowe, Master - Thomas B. Roane,
Chief Mate - James B. Downing, 2nd Mate - Dwight L. Hudson, 3rd Mate - George G Folk, Radio Operator - Walter H. Jennette, Chief Engineer -
Elbano Opffer, 1st Asst. Engineer - Marvin L. Carder, 2nd Asst. Engineer - Cecil L. Parrish Jr., 3rd Asst. Engineer - James B. Sellers, AB -
Wladyslau Hinc, AB - Satinios Gelardlinos, O.S. - John Daniels, O.S. - Victoriano R. Martinez, 2nd Cook - William T. Cooper, Oiler - James
H. Brandon, Messman - Louie B. Cook, Oiler - F. J. Farneigho Jr., Messman - Herbert Klotz, AB - Purdon A. Morris, Oiler - Thomas T. Nichols,
AB - Billy E. Nolan, AB - S. B. Thomas, Chief Cook.
1955, January
HOME SWEET HOME - Schooner
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1955, September 26
CONNEMARA IV - Motor yacht found abandoned
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1956 top
MARINE SKY RAIDER
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
1956, November 9
NAVY PATROL BOMBER, MARTIN MARLIN, P5M - Twin engine patrol flying boat, 350 miles north of Bermuda.
no debris recovered, crew of 10.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1957
SANDRA - See also: 1950, June
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey
1958, January 1
REVONOC - A 44' yawl disappears in bad weather from Key West to the Caribean with Harvey Conover on board.
 | Harvey Conover recieving sailing trophy.On the night of December 31, 1957/January 1, 1958, he, his son Larry, wife Dorothy and friend, Bill Fluegelman, left Key West for Miami. In the Revonoc. They were never seen again. |
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
Refers to the date as January 7th, 1958.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 102
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 144.
1962 top
PLANE - Unknown small plane over Nassau
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 146
A report of a pilot of a small plane over Nassau who can not see the land he is over, but is seen and heard by those on the ground.
1962, January 8
PLANE, KB-50J AIR TANKER - Langley,Virginia to the Azores.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey, Page 78
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 39.
1962, April
PLANE, PIPER APACHE
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche
1963, February 4
MARINE SULFUR QUEEN - A 523' type T2-SE-A1 tanker with a load of molten sulfur.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin, Page 52
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche, Page 305
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 132.
1963, July 2 top
SNO BOY - 63 foot chartered fishing boat lost with 55 on board, possible wreckage found.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin, .
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche,
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1963, August 28
KC-135, 2 AIRPLANES - Two airplanes lost, possible mid-air collision.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche,
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1963, September 22
C-133 CARGOMASTER AIRPLANE - Lost between Dover, Delaware and the Azores.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
1964
CRYSTAL - Reported missing in 1964, found in July of 1968, 4 years after being reported missing.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, Page 69.
DANCING FEATHER - A 39 foot ketch.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
1964, January 13 top
ENCHANTRESS - A 59 foot yacht that disappeared during bad weather and gale warnings approximatley 150 miles S/E of Charleston.
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey.
1965, June 5
C-119 FLYING BOXCAR AIRPLANE - Lost from Homestead Air Base to Grand Turk.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
Reported to have a cargo of airplane parts.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1965, October 28
EL GATO - 45 foot catamaran houseboat.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1966, October 29
SOUTHERN CITIES - A 67 foot harbor tug lost in the Gulf of Mexico. The SOUTHERN CITIES had problems on three other occasions
causing the NTSB and Coast Guard to blame her lack of "seaworthiness" for her disappearance.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
National Transportation Safety Board
This accident was investigated by the U. S. Coast Guard. The Marine Board of Investigation was conducted in a public proceeding in Houston,
Texas, beginning November 14, 1966. The Coast Guard report of that investigation and the Commandant's action thereon is included in and made
a part of this report. The NTSB has considered those facts in the Cost Guard report and came to the following conclusion: The NTSB finds that
the basic cause of the accident with the attendant loss of life was the unseaworthiness of the vessel for it's employment. Vessels of this type,
designed for service on inland waters, are extremely vulnerable to the perils of the sea when operating on unsheltered waters and distant from
a harbor of safe refuge.
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
U. S. Coast Guard Report: 5943/SOUTHERN CITIES A-8 Bd, 17 January, 1968
The M/V SOUTHERN CITIES bound on a voyage to Tuxpan, Mexico was lost at sea in the Gulf of Mexico with six crewmembers on board
after having departed Freeport, Texas on the evening of 29 October 1966 towing loaded barge B-1800 on a hawser. other vessels in the Gulf
of Mexico reported winds from the Northwest at 30 to 40 knots with seas 91/2 to 13 feet. The last communication was received from SOUTHERN
CITIES at approximately 0630 (+6 zone time) on November 1 1966 when, in the morning report to the owner she indicated her position to be
latitude 24º 30' north, longitude 96º 40' west. The SOUTHERN CITIES failed to make her scheduled daily report on the morning of 2 November
1966. Although not yet overdue, when no position report was received from the SOUTHERN CITIES on the morning of 3 November 1966, the
owner reported to the U. S. Coast Guard rescue coordination center New Orleans, Louisiana that there had been no communication from
the vessel in the previous 48 hours and requested Coast Guard assistance in locating and establishing communication with the SOUTHERN
CITIES. A search was made along the probable route of the tow by a Coast Guard aircraft with negative results. When no report was received
from the SOUTHERN CITIES on November 4 1966 an intensive search by CG aircraft and a CG vessel was commenced at the request of the
vessels owner. The search, covering 84,600 square miles, continued until November 8, 1966. During the search, barge B-1800 was located
at 0833 on November 5 drifting approximately 105 miles north of Tuxpan, Mexico. The barge was undamaged with her cargo intact and the
tow line was still made fast. A life preserver, a broken section of the name board, and a ring buoy from SOUTHERN CITIES were later found
at various positions. No other debris or equipment was located None of the crew of six have ever been found. Grady A. Reynolds, Master -
Victor L. Benton, Mate - Clyde Wesley Sparkman, Engineer - George R. Johnson, Deckhand - Buddy Lee, Deckhand - Thomas E Rollins,
Deckhand.
1967, January 11, Also refered to as "Black Week"
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
CHASE YC-122 AIRPLANE - A cargo plane.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
LIGHT AIRPLANE - Piloted by Phillip Quigley.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
PIPER APACHE AIRPLANE - Piloted by John D. Walston.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
1967, January 12 top
PIPER APACHE AIRPLANE
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1967, January 14
BEECHCRAFT BONANZA AIRPLANE - Piloted by Robert Van Westerbork.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1967,December
WITCHCRAFT - A 23 foot cabin cruiser that disappeared a mile offshore of Miami near the number 7 buoy about 9pm.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey,
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1968, May 21 - On or about.
SCORPION, USN SUBMARINE - Number SSN 589, Skipjack class. This was the sixth Scorpion. It was laid down on August 20th,
1958, at Groton, Connecticut at the General Dynamics Corp. Electric Boat Division. The Scorpion launched on the 19th of December, 1959.
The ship was sponsored by Mrs. Elizabeth S. Morrison and was commissioned on July 29th, 1960 under Commander Norman B. Bessac.
The Scorpion displaced 3,075 tons on the surface and 3,500 tons when submerged. The ships beam was 31' 7" and it's length was 251' 9".
The armament consisted of 6 torpedo tubes with a payload of ?? torpedoes
Assigned to Submarine Squadron 6, Division 62, Scorpion departed New London, Conn., on 24 August for a two-month deployment in
European waters. During that period, she participated in exercises with units of the 6th Fleet and of other NATO [North Atlantic Treaty
Organization] navies. After returning to New England in late October, she trained along the eastern seaboard until May 1961, then crossed
the Atlantic again for operations which took her into the summer. On 9 August, she returned to New London and, a month later, shifted
to Norfolk, Va.
With Norfolk her home port for the remainder of her career, Scorpion specialized in the development of nuclear submarine warfare tactics.
Varying her role from hunter to hunted, she participated in exercises which ranged along the Atlantic coast and in the Bermuda and
Puerto Rican operating areas; then, from June 1963 to May 1964, she interrupted her operations for an overhaul at Charleston, S.C.
Resuming duty off the eastern seaboard in late spring, she again interrupted that duty from 4 August to 8 October to make a transatlantic
patrol. In the spring of 1965, she conducted a similar patrol in European waters.
During the late winter and early spring of 1966, and again in the fall, she was deployed for special operations. Following the completion
of those assignments, her commanding officer received the Navy Commendation Medal for outstanding leadership, foresight, and professional
skill. Other Scorpion officers and men were cited for meritorious achievement.
On 1 February 1967, Scorpion entered the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for another extended overhaul. In late October, she commenced refresher
training and weapons system acceptance tests. Following type training out of Norfolk, she got underway on 15 February 1968 for a
Mediterranean deployment. She operated with the 6th Fleet, into May, and then headed west for home. On 21 May, she indicated her position
to be about 50 miles south of the Azores. Six days later, she was reported overdue at Norfolk.
A search was initiated, but, on 5 June, Scorpion and her crew were declared "presumed lost." Her name was struck from the Navy list on
30 June.
The search continued, however; and, at the end of October, the Navy's oceanographic research ship, Mizar (T-AGOR-11) located sections
of Scorpion's hull in more than 10,000 feet of water about 400 miles southwest of the Azores. Subsequently, the Court of Inquiry was
reconvened and other vessels, including the submersible Trieste were dispatched to the scene and collected a myriad of pictures and other data.
Although the cause of her loss is still not ascertainable, the most probable event was the inadvertent activation of the battery of a Mark 37
torpedo during a torpedo inspection. The torpedo, in a fully ready condition and without a propeller guard, then began a live "hot run" within
the tube. Released from the tube, the torpedo became fully armed and successfully engaged its nearest target, Scorpion. Alternatively, the
torpedo may have exploded in the tube owing to an uncontrollable fire in the torpedo room.
The explosion--recorded elsewhere as a very loud acoustic event--broke the boat into two major pieces, with the forward hull section, including
the torpedo room and most of the operations compartment, creating one impact trench while the aft section, including the reactor compartment
and engine room, created a second impact trench. The sail is detached and lies nearby in a large debris field.
Owing to the pressurized-water nuclear reactor in the engine room, deep ocean radiological monitoring operations were conducted in August
and September 1986. The site had been previously monitored in 1968 and 1979 and none of the samples obtained showed any evidence of
release of radioactivity.
.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Bermuda Triangle" - Adi-Kent Thomas Jeffrey,
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
"The Cousteau Almanac" - Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
1969, March 3 top
BEECHCRAFT AIRPLANE
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
1969, MARCH 23
BEECHCRAFT AIRPLANE - Possibly the same as the March 3rd airplane. lost with Dr. James Horton and
Dr. Charles Griggs. A twin engine airplane lost en route from Kingston to Nassau.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1969, June 7
CESSNA 172 AIRPLANE - Lost with Miss Cascio and Mr. Rosen onboard. The pilot can not see land while flying over it,
but the plane is observed from the ground.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1969, July
TEIGNMOUTH ELECTRON - A 41 foot trimaran skipperd by Donald Crowhurst, found abandoned in mid atlantic.
No trace of Crowhurst was ever found.
Discovery of the TEIGNMOUTH ELECTRON"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
ABANDONED CRAFT - A 60' white hulled yacht found keel up several hundred miles N/E of Bermuda by the ship MAPLEBANK.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
1969, July 2 top
VAGABOND - Found abandoned by the GOLAR FROST in the mid atlantic.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer,
1969, July 4
UNIDENTIFIED ABANDONED 35 FOOT YACHT - Sighted by the COTOPAXI
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
1969, July 8
ABANDONED CRAFT - 36 Foot upturned hull found by HELISOMA between the Azores and Portugal
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
1969, September
LIGHT TWIN ENGINE PLANE - Mr. and Mrs. Hector Guzman are listed on board.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer, gives the month as October.
1969, November 2
SOUTHERN CROSS - Yacht discovered abandoned 10 miles N.E. of Cape May, New Jersey.
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer,
1970, November top
JILLIE BEAN
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche. cargo listed as 5 tons of soda pop.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche. cargo listed as 5 tons of soda pop.
PIPER COMANCHE
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche.
BEECHCRAFT BONANZA
"Mystic Places" - Time Life Books. says plane did not disappear, but experienced a time and
space discrepancy.
"Mystic Places" - Time Life Books. says plane did not disappear, but experienced a time and
space discrepancy.
1971, April 5
ELIZABETH
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche. cargo listed as paper.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche. cargo listed as paper.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer
1971, July 26
LIGHT PLANE - Two couples vanish while flying Cub airplane from Curacao to Barbados
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer.
1971, September 10
F-4 PHANTOM FIGHTER PLANE - Disappears off radar
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer.
1971, October 12
EL CARIBE - A 338 foot motor ship
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Psychic in the Devil's Triangle" - James Paul Chaplin,
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche. cargo listed as cement clinkers.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer.
1971, October 20
SUPER CONSTELLATION AIRPLANE - With a cargo of frozen beef
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer.
1971, October 26
LUCKY EDUR - A 25 foot fishing yacht found abandoned off of the Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
1971, December 25
IXTAPA - A 53 foot cabin cruiser
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer.
1972, February 2
V. A. FOGG - A 572 foot tanker that sank in the Gulf of Mexico with a cargo of Benzene and Xylene. Debris and the ship are found. It is rumored
that all the bodies had disappeared from the wreck but there is photographic proof of human remains in the wheelhouse.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
that all the bodies had disappeared from the wreck but there is photographic proof of human remains in the wheelhouse.
"Among the Missing" - Jay Robert Nash
"Limbo of the Lost-Today" - John Wallace Spencer
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche. Cargo listed as Benzene and Xylene.
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer.
1972, June 19
8 FOOT DINGHY - Two teenagers disappear from Fort Lauderdale beach
"The Devil's Triangle" - Richard Winer.
1973, March 21
NORSE VARIANT - Lost during a bad storm in route from New Port News, Virginia to Germany with a load of coal. Sister ship to the ANITA.
"The Bermuda Triangle Mystery-Solved" - Lawrence David Kusche. Cargo listed as coal.
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