Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Perhaps the most disputed plane disappearance occurred in early December 1945, when not one but six planes vanished, which have yet to be recovered. On that day, in “average” weather conditions, five Avenger torpedo bombers, which are well-known in the aviation community for their immensity, took off from their base in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, for bombing practice in what has since become known as the Bermuda Triangle. After experiencing problems with their compasses (which is known to happen in that area as well as in the Chinese Sea), the five planes lost communication with the ground station. However, the ground station could still follow communications between the pilots of the planes, during which it was noted that they became disoriented as to their locations and decided that once the first plane dropped below 10 gallons of fuel all planes were to ditch to the sea. An intensive rescue mission ensued immediately by the Coast Guard and navy that covered 700,000 square kilometers over five days, during which another plane carrying 13 passengers disappeared, never to be found again. The only clue as to its fate was a report from an ocean liner that was in the supposed location of the plane at that specific time claiming to have seen a giant fireball in the sky. However, to the date of this publication, no debris of the six missing planes or their passengers has been found, thus sparking the mysterious aura surrounding the legendary Bermuda Triangle.