Howard, an expert on Bermuda Triangle, claims that more than 50 ships and 20 planes have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle over the last century itself, and up to 1000 over the past 500 years. So how did the planes and ships disappear? What went wrong? Actually there is no single theory that can explain all disappearances. The planes and ships have been victims of different circumstances & situations while cruising over the vast triangle area and were in different physical locations. And therefore there are several theories that explain the different incidents of missing ships and planes in Bermuda Triangle. Here are some of the top and most popular theories that try to explain and solve the mysteries.
Bermuda Triangle Theories
Methane Gas Theory
Large amount of methane gas is known to exist below the ocean floor trapped in the sediments in form of methane hydrates. If such gas finds its way out and starts rising through the water, it can significantly reduce the density of water in that area. And ships passing over that area can sink in no time. Such gas release can also create explosions and saturate the atmosphere with methane gas causing planes to crash.
The Sargasso Sea
Sargasso sea is a strange area within Bermuda Triangle that has no shores but bounded by ocean currents on all sides. This has been the trap for many sailing vessels in the past. Many sailing boats and ships are believed to have become completely motionless while passing through this area and later found in derelict conditions without a soul on them. Dense seaweed on water surface and exceptionally low winds have been the main cause of making vessels motionless in this area.
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream is an ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, and then moves through the Straits of Florida, into the North Atlantic and passes through Bermuda Triangle area. It is like a river within an ocean and can easily carry floating objects along its flow. A small plane making a water landing or a boat having engine trouble will be easily carried away. It happened to the cabin cruiser Witchcraft on December 22, 1967, when it reported engine trouble near the Miami buoy marker one mile from shore, but was not there when a Coast Guard cutter arrived.
Electronic Fog: A Hutchison effect
It has been heard several times that ships and aircraft get engulfed in some kind of electronic fog and the fog keeps moving along with the ship or the plane. And eventually, all the electronic equipment and other instruments start malfunctioning. Then the ships and airplanes either disintegrate or disappear without a trace. Vancouver based scientist John Hutchison through his experiments has shown occurrence of Electronic Fog that causes some strange phenomena.
Compass Variation
Do you know that magnetic and absolute North are not the same. Which means that the north where a compass points and the absolute geographic north which is the north pole are different. So ships need to make adjustment for this difference to keep to the right direction. But in Bermuda Triangle, there is a narrow strip where both these North’s become the same. Some claim that such Compass Variation could have been the cause for fatal accidents as ships failed to determine the correct direction.
Strange Weather & Hurricanes
At times there are violent storms in the Bermuda Triangle area. These short but intense storms can build up quickly and go away so fast that even a satellite can’t detect them properly. But these storms are strong enough to destroy ships or planes completely. There are also waterspouts seen in this area. A waterspout is like a tornado at sea that sucks water from the ocean thousands of feet into the sky.
Hurricanes are extremely powerful swirling storms that sometimes appear in the Atlantic near the equator. They usually originate from south eastern Atlantic and pass through the Bermuda Triangle area towards the south eastern coast of the US. June to November is the time when possibility of such hurricane occurring is the most. Such hurricanes have historically been the cause for loss of many lives and extensive damage. The sinking of Francisco de Bobadilla’s Spanish fleet in 1502 was the first recorded instance of such destructive hurricane. Hurricanes have in the past caused a number of fatal damages to the sailing vessels passing through the area.
Freak Waves
Very large waves can appear suddenly even in calm seas. One such rogue wave caused the Ocean Ranger, then the world’s largest offshore platform to capsize in 1982. Research has shown that freak waves up to 30m high & capable of sinking a large ship within moments, can and do happen. Although these are very rare, in some areas ocean currents indicate that they happen more often than normal.
Unusual Seafloor
The seafloor in Bermuda Triangle area is also found to be quite strange. There are some unusual formations. From a gentle slope it takes a sudden deep drop. In fact, some of the deepest trenches in the world are found in this area. Ships or planes that sink into these deep trenches will probably never be found.
Human Error
Human mistakes can not be ruled out in this area. More so because the vast water area in Bermuda Triangle has so many islands that look so similar. It is easy to make a mistake confusing one with another. And in such confusion if the captain takes a wrong turn or direction, then he can slowly but surely get to such water area where it would be too late to turn back and reach a land to refuel. And then eventually it’ll be a question of how long the ship can sustain the foul weather.
Supernatural Theories
There are also explanations based on some supernatural theories like the lost city of Atlantis, UFOs & Aliens. Check out Supernatural Theories to know about such explanations that try to explain the disappearances
