The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370), which went missing somewhere between Malaysia and Vietnam on March 8 at 2:40 a.m., local time, continues.
If the search for the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft yields no further results, it won’t be the first time in history a passenger plane has vanished from existence with little or no trace.
Here are nine missing passenger planes whose whereabouts to this day remain a mystery.
1. Hawaii Clipper (Pan Am), July 28, 1938
Martin M-130 similar to the ‘Hawaii Clipper’. (Wikimedia Commons)
Plane type: Martin M-130 (NC14714)
Passengers: 6
Crew: 9
Hawaii Clipper, a Martin flying boat, was due to cross the Pacific Ocean from Guam to the Philippines.
The plane left Guam at 6:00 p.m. CST, and last contact was made at 10:03 p.m. CST.
The pilot reported over the radio that he was 565 miles from the Philippine coast, and was flying through “layers of clouds and moderately rough air.”
Eerily similar to the current Malaysian Airline case, a “thick oil area” was found on the ocean surface where the plane was suppose to have gone missing.
The search proved fruitless, and it was called off on Aug. 5, 1938.
The Hawaii Clipper’s disappearance was the worst Pacific Ocean airline accident at that time.
There is a website devoted to the missing plane.
2. Hannibal (Imperial Airways), March 1, 1940
Handley Page HP.42E similar to the ‘Hannibal’. (Wikimedia Commons)
Plane Type: Handley Page HP.42E (G-AAGX)
Passengers: 4
Crew: 4
Hannibal departed from Jiwani Airport, Pakistan, and was due for Sharjah Airport, United Arab Emirates.
The plane vanished without a trace over the Gulf of Oman.
The last radio message, sent when the plane was 40 miles out to sea, was “... OS....” Oddly, given what the message seems to suggest, it was not taken to be a distress signal.
It was reported on March 21, 1940 that the search was abandoned.
There is a cloak of mystery surrounding the Hannibal’s disappearance. The plane was carrying high ranking government and military personal, and vanished when World War II was unfolding, making it a prime target for war-time conspiracy theories.
There is also a website devoted to the plane’s disappearance.
3. G-AGLX (British Overseas Airways Corporation), March 23, 1946
Avro 691 Lancastrian 1 similar to the one the disappeared. (Wikimedia Commons)
Plane type: Avro 691 Lancastrian 1
Passengers: 5
Crew: 5
The G-AGLX, which was operated by Qantas, departed from Colombo, Sri Lanka, and was headed for Cocos Islands Airport, Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
The plane vanished while en-route to Australia.
4. Star Tiger (British South American Airways), January 30, 1948
Avro Tudor Mk.IVB Super Trader similar to the one the disappeared. (Wikimedia Commons)
Plane type: Avro 688 Tudor 1 (G-AHNP)
Passengers: 25
Crew: 6
The Star Tiger took off on January 28, 1948 from Santa Maria-Vila do Porto Airport, Azores, Portugal, and was headed for Bermuda-Kindley Field NAS (NWU), Bermuda.
The plane had departed from London a day earlier, but stopped in Portugal as the cabin’s heating system and plane’s compass required repairs.
Just before the Star Tiger entered Bermuda’s airspace, the aircraft’s radio operator radioed at 3:15 a.m. GMT that the plane was traveling at a bearing of 72 degrees.
A search was called when the aircraft vanished over Bermuda, and when nothing was found, an official investigation was made.
The British Ministry of Civil Aviation concluded in their report: “It may truly be said that no more baffling problem has ever been presented.”
“What happened in this case will never be known and the fate of Star Tiger must remain an unsolved mystery.”
In 2009, journalist Tom Mangold explained that “catastrophic technical failure“ could have brought the plane down.
The Star Tiger’s disappearance was the worst Atlantic Ocean aircraft accident at that time.
5. DC-3 (Airborne Transport), December 28, 1948
Douglas DC-3D similar to the one the disappeared. (Wikimedia Commons)
Plane type: Douglas DC-3DST-144 (NC16002)
Passengers: 29
Crew: 3
The plane departed from San Juan-Isla Grande Airport, Puerto Rico, for Miami International Airport, Florida, USA.
Last radio contact was made by the pilot at 4:13 a.m. ET to New Orleans. He reported that the flight was 50 miles from the South of Miami.
No trace of the DC-3 was ever found.
Like the missing Star Tiger, the mysterious circumstances of the plane’s disappearance would contribute to the Bermuda Triangle conspiracy.
The Bermuda Triangle is a famed triangular area bounded by Miami, Florida, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the island of Bermuda.
Many planes have vanished in the Triangle, making it a favorite spot for paranormal and extraterrestrial investigators and theorists.
6. Star Ariel (British South American Airways), January 17, 1949
The actual ‘Star Arial.’ (Wikimedia Commons)
Plane type: Avro 688 Tudor 4B (G-AGRE)
Passengers: 13
Crew: 7
Barely a year after the Star Tiger and DC-3’s disappearance, the Bermuda Triangle would infamously claim another victim.
The Star Ariel departed from Bermuda Air Terminal, Bermuda, and was headed to Kingston Airport, Jamaica.
Last radio contact from the Star Ariel to Bermuda was made at 9:42 a.m. ET, informing air traffic control that the plane had passed through 30 degrees North, and that the pilot was switching transmission frequencies.
The plane’s mysterious disappearance is especially strange since the weather that day was good, with no clouds above 10,000 feet, and no air turbulence.
British Chief Inspector of Accidents, Air Commodore Vernon Brown concluded that: “Through lack of evidence due to no wreckage having been found, the cause of the accident is unknown.”
7. DC-4 (Canadian Pacific Air Lines), July 21, 1951
C-54A-DO similar to the the C-54A-10-DC that disappeared. (Wikimedia Commons)
Plane type: Douglas C-54A-10-DC (CF-CPC)
Passengers: 31
Crew: 6
The C-54 was en-route to Anchorage-Elmendorf AFB, AK, USA, from Vancouver International Airport, BC, Canada.
A report was made at 6:53 p.m. PT while the plane was flying over the Cape Spencer intersection in British Columbia. Nothing more was heard after.
The United States Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force conducted an extensive search, but failed to find any traces of the plane.
8. DC-3 (Gulf Aviation), July 10, 1960
Douglas C-47-DL similar to the one that disappeared. (Wikimedia Commons)
Plane type: Douglas C-47-DL (VT-DGS)
Passengers: 13
Crew: 3
The DC-3 departed from Doha Airport, Qatar, for Sharjah Airport, United Arab Emirates.
Last radio contact was made to Sharjah air traffic control at 6:05 a.m. GMT, but Sharjah never heard the transmission.
The pilot of a de Havilland Heron plane, who was also scheduled to land at Sharjah, heard the DC-3’s transmission to the airport’s traffic controllers.
The de Havilland Heron plane landed at Sharjah. The DC-3, however, disappeared.
Poor visibility and considerable tailwind were suggested as plausible reasons for the accident.
9. Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 6715, January 10, 1995
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 similar to the one that disappeared. (Wikimedia Commons)
Plane type: de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 (PK-NUK)
Passengers: 10
Crew: 4
The Twin Otter plane departed from Bima Airport for Ruteng Airport in Indonesia.
The plane went missing in bad weather.
No wreckage was ever found.
