What Happened To Flight 19?

     It was just after two in the afternoon on December 5, 1945 that five Navy Avenger's took off from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  The five planes were collectively called Flight 19 and were on a routine training mission that took them near the Bahamas where they dropped dummy bombs.  The flight was led by Lt. Charles Taylor, a flight instructor with combat experience.  There was a total of fourteen men on board the five Avengers. 

     Flight 19 completed its bombing exercise.  Then, as they headed back toward base something appeared to go wrong with the flight.  Lt. Taylor reports that his compass has stopped working.  It was around this time that the weather also takes a turn for the worst.  It began to rain, and the sky grew cloudy with strong gusts of wind.  Radio conversations between the pilots of Flight 19 seem to indicate that there was a lot of confusion.

     A nearby Navy flight instructor hears the radio conversation and offers to assist Flight 19.  Lt. Taylor tells him that both of his compasses have stopped working and he feels he has drifted off course and was likely in the Florida Keys.  Navy personnel knew Taylor and Flight 19 could not have reached the Keys in that time period.  So, where were they?  And why was Taylor so disoriented?  As the flight progressed Taylor seemed even more confused, changing the course of direction several times.

     Some of the other pilots seemed to be frustrated with Taylor.  At one point one of the men can be heard saying, "Dammit!  If we would just fly west we would get home."  In the last conversation Lt. Taylor can be heard instructing the crew to ditch the Avenger's in the ocean as they ran out of fuel.  Then, all that was heard was static.

     Realizing Flight 19 has likely gone down the Navy immediately sends out two PBM Mariners in search of the missing Avenger's.  But the already strange disappearance of five aircraft gets even stranger when one of the Mariner's also mysteriously disappears.  The Mariner and its crew of thirteen men disappeared from radar and were never heard from again.  So, what happened to these six missing aircraft?

     A passing merchant ship reported seeing fire in the sky and someone else reported a suspicious oil slick in the water.  Because of this it is widely believed that the PBM Mariner likely exploded over the ocean.  Apparently, this particular type of aircraft was notorious for catching fire easily.

     A lot of people point out that all six planes disappeared in the area known as the Bermuda Triangle, an area off the Florida coast where a good many planes and ships have mysteriously disappeared over the years.  Some pilots have reported strange things happening with their instruments while in this area.  Could this be what happened to Lt. Taylor's compass?

     Others point out that with or without a compass a pilot as experienced at Lt. Taylor should have known how to find his way back to land.  It has also been reported that Taylor asked to be excused from flying that afternoon.  He didn't give a reason and his request was denied.  This has led some people to speculate that something was wrong with Taylor that day that led to his confusion in the air.  Why did Taylor not hand over control to another aircraft after his compass failed?  Why did he ignore other pilot's suggestions to fly west, which was reportedly protocol for pilots lost in that area?  Why did the other four pilots continue following Taylor?

     The five Navy Avengers that made up Flight 19 have never been found.  They seem to have vanished into thin air.  Despite the Navy launching a massive search for the missing planes the next day and numerous citizen led searches over the years, no wreckage or any sign of Flight 19 has ever been found.  The mystery surrounding the flight continues.  Was it a strange case of pilot error, even though there were five different pilots on the flight?  Or was it another case of the Bermuda Triangle causing strange unexplained phenomenon to airplanes and ships?  Will Flight 19 ever be found?  And will the mystery surrounding the Bermuda Triangle ever be scientifically explained?