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Which natural hazards account for losses without trace in this area?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by ·Part of Do ships and aircraft vanish in the Bermuda Triangle more often than traffic and conditions would predict?·4 answers·0·0 following
Most likely: storms and sudden severe seas, from hurricanes and Gulf Stream weather, account for most losses without traceAhead on the evidence, not yet confirmed. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

Where it stands

Four answers have been proposed. Navigation errors, including misreading compass variation where magnetic and true north align, cause… leads, with evidence 2 for: partly supported by its tests. Three are still possible.

Why it matters

Losses without wreckage or distress calls are the core of the legend. NOAA lists the natural candidates⁠[1]; one, methane eruption, has a peer-reviewed mechanism but no measured frequency⁠[2].

Answers 4

Evidence: 2 for
Most likely
Evidence: 1 for
Most likely
Evidence: 1 for, 1 against
Still possible
None of these.
Not tested enough to call either way
Evidence: none yet
Still possible

History

  1. May & Monaghan puts forward: methane eruptions from seabed sediments occasionally sink vessels by reducing buoyancy.
  2. May & Monaghan: experiments and simulations show that a single large bubble can sink a floating body of comparable size.For: Methane eruptions from seabed sediments occasionally sink vessels by reducing buoyancy.
  3. NOAA National Ocean Service puts forward: storms and sudden severe seas, from hurricanes and Gulf Stream weather, account for most losses without trace.
  4. NOAA National Ocean Service puts forward: navigation errors, including misreading compass variation where magnetic and true north align, cause…
  5. NOAA National Ocean Service: most Atlantic hurricanes pass through the area and the Gulf Stream can produce sudden violent weather.For: Storms and sudden severe seas, from hurricanes and Gulf Stream weather, account for most losses without trace.
  6. NOAA National Ocean Service: nOAA calls methane eruption grounded in science but not in evidence.Against: Methane eruptions from seabed sediments occasionally sink vessels by reducing buoyancy.
  7. NOAA National Ocean Service: nOAA notes evidence that a compass may point to true rather than magnetic north in parts of the area.For: Navigation errors, including misreading compass variation where magnetic and true north align, cause…
  8. Wright & Ryan: flight 19 was lost after its leader misjudged its position.For: Navigation errors, including misreading compass variation where magnetic and true north align, cause…
  9. Asked on this site
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