The mystery surrounding Boeing MH370, which disappeared nine years ago (March 8, 2014) en route from Malaysia to China, is still not over.
The news that some people had traveled on the plane with fake passports initially worried everyone. Investigating agencies suspected that they might be terrorists and that they might have detonated bombs in the sky. China claimed that it had found the wreckage of the plane, but it later turned out to be untrue.
There were reports that some passengers’ mobile phones were still working hours after the plane went missing and money was withdrawn through ATM cards. Netflix’s recent documentary claims that there were three unidentified Russian passengers on board MH370 and that they may have been hackers commissioned by the Russian government. Aviation experts say it’s all pure nonsense, but they too can’t say what actually happened.
Many planes and ships have gone missing before, leaving behind mysteries. Some plane wreckage is found years later, while others remain unaccounted for decades.
In this technologically advanced age, the infamous Bermuda Triangle, a stretch of the Atlantic between Miami and Bermuda, is a nightmare for aviators around the world. No one ever saw a plane that flew over it or a ship that passed in the area. In 1492, Christopher Columbus first informed the outside world about the strange experiences he encountered in the area.
In 1918, the world was shocked when an American cargo ship carrying 300 people disappeared without a trace near the Bermuda Triangle. Shortly thereafter, Bermuda became an undeclared no-fly zone when several planes and sailors disappeared in the area, defying all technology.
Some scientists say that there are exaggerated stories and some myths behind it. But there are some mysterious plane crashes in history that kept the world on edge for weeks or years, like the case of the Malaysian plane.
Table of Contents
10 Mysterious Plane Crashes
1. Air France Flight 447 (2009)
On May 31, 2009, an Airbus A330 departing from Rio de Janeiro to Paris lost contact with the outside world over the Atlantic Ocean.
The plane was then in the middle of the sea, which would take up to four days to travel by ship from the nearest port. All 228 people on board were later confirmed dead. But it took almost two years to recover all the remains.
2. Boeing plane crash (2003)
20 years ago on May 25, 2003, a Boeing 727 disappeared near Luanda, the capital of Angola.
There are conflicting reports that there was only one person on board, or more. However, till date there is no information about what happened to it.
3. Egyptian Airplane Crash (1999)
An EgyptAir jet plane that took off from New York to Cairo, the Egyptian capital, suddenly crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near the American coast.
The plane, carrying 217 people, plunged from an altitude of 14,000 feet in 36 seconds. It is believed that the pilot or co-pilot who was controlling the plane committed suicide. In any case, everyone on board died.
4. New York Airplane Crash (1996)
The TWA 800 plane exploded and crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from New York. There were 230 people on board.
Some eyewitnesses said the plane exploded after being approached by something like a fireball, pointing to the possibility of a terrorist attack. Although the government later revealed that the plane’s fuel tank exploded, there are still many people in the country who do not believe it.
Some officials, who had previously investigated the case, also demanded a reinvestigation of the incident. To this day, many believe that the plane may have been shot down by an accidental missile attack from a US warship or by a bomb explosion.
5. British Airplane Disappearance (1947)
A British aircraft flight from Buenos Aires to Chile disappeared on August 2, 1947.
Finally, the pilot sent a message to a nearby communications center: “STENDEC.” To this day, no one knows what that meant. Neither the plane nor its wreckage has been found yet.
6. American Military Plane Disappearance (1945)
On December 5, 1945, an American plane carrying five soldiers disappeared off the coast of Florida. During a training flight, radio contact with the pilot suddenly failed. No information about the plane has been received yet.
Some planes took off to search, but two of them disappeared in the same area where the first plane went missing. Everyone blamed the nearby Bermuda Triangle for the series of tragedies.
7. British Fighter Plane Crash (1942)
A Royal Air Force fighter plane crashed in the Sahara desert on June 28, 1942.
Despite extensive searches, no remains of the small plane were found. But the incident that surprised everyone happened after 70 years in 2012. In 2012, an oil company employee found the wreckage of the said plane. Except for the wreckage, no parts of the aircraft – the wings, the cockpit, or even the fuel tank – were liquefied.
8. Uruguay Plane Crash (1972)
Uruguayan Air Force Fighter Flight 571 has a unique story to tell in the history of aviation disasters.
A plane with 45 passengers on board crashed in the Andes mountains in bad weather. No further information was available about the plane or its occupants. But after 72 days, researchers found that some of them were still alive.
The group rescued 16 people who were starving by eating the body parts of the dead. Those who remained had succumbed to the bad weather in the area.
9. American Military Plane Disappearance (1962)
In 1962, a fighter 739 aircraft with 90 soldiers on board took off from the United States for the Philippines. But it did not reach its destination. The pilot did not give any indication of danger. The United States, which had embarked on a search mission with more than 1,300 soldiers, had to be disappointed.
Officials from a Liberian ship in the area said something like a predatory fish darted through the sky at the time the plane was believed to have taken off, but the U.S. called off the investigation, calling it an “accident of undetermined cause.”
10. What happened to Amelia Earhart?
Amelia Earhart, an American, wanted to become the first female pilot to fly around the world. In 1937, she took off in her twin-engine plane until she landed in the Howland area of the Pacific Islands. It was only 7000 miles to reach the target. Although 2,50,000 square miles of territory were sifted at a cost of 4 million dollars, the United States received no information about them.
Some spread that Amelia and her assistant were captured by Japanese soldiers in the area and executed for espionage. In 1940, it was reported that the bones found on the island belonged to Amelia and her companion, but this too has not been confirmed.
