1 00:00:03,296 --> 00:00:05,924 ‐ Tonight, on "History's Greatest Mysteries"... 2 00:00:06,049 --> 00:00:09,010 [dramatic music] 3 00:00:09,094 --> 00:00:11,012 The Hoodoo Sea. 4 00:00:11,137 --> 00:00:13,181 The graveyard of the Atlantic. 5 00:00:13,306 --> 00:00:16,685 Or, as we know it more commonly today, 6 00:00:16,851 --> 00:00:18,353 the Bermuda Triangle. 7 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:21,231 ♪ ♪ 8 00:00:21,356 --> 00:00:22,941 I'm Laurence Fishburne. 9 00:00:23,066 --> 00:00:25,026 Nearly a hundred ships and planes 10 00:00:25,110 --> 00:00:26,903 have vanished into this enigma. 11 00:00:27,028 --> 00:00:28,655 On tonight's mystery, 12 00:00:28,780 --> 00:00:31,283 the case that made the Bermuda Triangle famous: 13 00:00:31,408 --> 00:00:33,285 the disappearance of Flight 19. 14 00:00:33,410 --> 00:00:35,412 ♪ ♪ 15 00:00:35,579 --> 00:00:37,038 In December, 1945, 16 00:00:37,205 --> 00:00:40,041 in the months after World War II, 17 00:00:40,125 --> 00:00:43,920 a squadron of U. S. Navy torpedo bombers took off from Florida 18 00:00:44,045 --> 00:00:46,006 on a routine training mission, 19 00:00:46,131 --> 00:00:48,675 and never returned. 20 00:00:48,758 --> 00:00:50,719 ♪ ♪ 21 00:00:50,885 --> 00:00:52,637 Where did they crash? 22 00:00:52,721 --> 00:00:54,264 And why? 23 00:00:54,389 --> 00:00:57,350 ‐ Somebody has to know the truth. 24 00:00:57,517 --> 00:00:58,852 ‐ The only way we're going to solve this 25 00:00:58,935 --> 00:01:01,229 is to find an aircraft. 26 00:01:01,354 --> 00:01:04,482 ♪ ♪ 27 00:01:04,566 --> 00:01:07,068 ‐ Over the decades, there have been countless searches. 28 00:01:07,193 --> 00:01:08,862 But now, a possible game changer. 29 00:01:08,945 --> 00:01:12,490 ‐ Bridge, standby. 30 00:01:12,574 --> 00:01:15,076 Fishburne: Three groups of investigators join forces 31 00:01:15,201 --> 00:01:18,788 in the biggest search for Flight 19 yet. 32 00:01:18,913 --> 00:01:20,373 ‐ Dead ahead. What is that? 33 00:01:20,457 --> 00:01:22,542 Fishburne: Deep‐sea explorer Rob Kraft 34 00:01:22,626 --> 00:01:25,962 leads the most advanced research ship of its kind. 35 00:01:26,046 --> 00:01:28,340 ‐ That's an aircraft. No doubt. 36 00:01:28,465 --> 00:01:31,092 Fishburne: Scientist and wreck diver Mike Barnette 37 00:01:31,217 --> 00:01:34,179 investigates new clues along the coastline. 38 00:01:34,262 --> 00:01:36,723 ‐ We definitely have a mystery aircraft, definitely Navy. 39 00:01:36,890 --> 00:01:40,477 Fishburne: And researchers David O'Keefe and Wayne Abbott 40 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,063 follow a trail of cover‐ups, conspiracy, 41 00:01:43,188 --> 00:01:44,856 and missing evidence. 42 00:01:44,981 --> 00:01:48,109 ‐ Of course they're going to whitewash it. 43 00:01:48,234 --> 00:01:49,611 Fishburne: From the deep... 44 00:01:49,736 --> 00:01:51,279 ‐ We're looking for F‐28. 45 00:01:51,404 --> 00:01:52,864 Fishburne: ...to the swamps... 46 00:01:52,947 --> 00:01:54,240 ‐ That is a 50‐caliber. 47 00:01:54,366 --> 00:01:56,242 Fishburne: All leading to a moment 48 00:01:56,368 --> 00:01:58,703 that could solve the mystery. 49 00:01:58,870 --> 00:02:01,665 ‐ Boom, staring us in the face, a large propeller. 50 00:02:01,748 --> 00:02:04,876 Flight 19 could be in this area, and this could be one of them. 51 00:02:05,043 --> 00:02:07,962 ‐ Have they finally found Flight 19? 52 00:02:08,088 --> 00:02:10,882 [dramatic music] 53 00:02:11,049 --> 00:02:17,889 ♪ ♪ 54 00:02:24,020 --> 00:02:26,815 [light dramatic music] 55 00:02:26,940 --> 00:02:33,780 ♪ ♪ 56 00:02:34,948 --> 00:02:40,412 ♪ ♪ 57 00:02:40,578 --> 00:02:43,206 ‐ Petrel is a very unique ship. 58 00:02:43,373 --> 00:02:46,626 We are outfitted unlike any other vessel. 59 00:02:46,751 --> 00:02:50,505 The ship itself is inherently designed and built 60 00:02:50,588 --> 00:02:53,091 for deep‐water search operations. 61 00:02:53,216 --> 00:02:55,301 ♪ ♪ 62 00:02:55,385 --> 00:02:58,179 Fishburne: It's February 13th, 2020, 63 00:02:58,346 --> 00:03:02,350 day one of a search 200 miles off the Florida coast. 64 00:03:02,475 --> 00:03:05,019 ♪ ♪ 65 00:03:05,145 --> 00:03:06,521 ‐ Camera's coming up. 66 00:03:06,688 --> 00:03:08,523 ♪ ♪ 67 00:03:08,648 --> 00:03:11,317 Fishburne: Underwater explorer Rob Kraft 68 00:03:11,401 --> 00:03:14,362 has led the research vessel RV Petrel 69 00:03:14,446 --> 00:03:16,948 deep into the Bermuda Triangle... 70 00:03:17,073 --> 00:03:18,491 ‐ You're wet, you're in. 71 00:03:18,616 --> 00:03:20,285 Fishburne: ...an infamous area 72 00:03:20,410 --> 00:03:24,789 between Florida's coast, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. 73 00:03:24,914 --> 00:03:28,710 Their hopes for finding Flight 19 are high. 74 00:03:28,793 --> 00:03:32,088 ‐ And here's the bottom. That is our waypoint. 75 00:03:32,213 --> 00:03:33,673 Fishburne: RV Petrel's mission 76 00:03:33,798 --> 00:03:36,426 is to seek out the great shipwrecks of the world 77 00:03:36,551 --> 00:03:39,095 using an array of advanced technology, 78 00:03:39,220 --> 00:03:41,514 including ultra‐high‐def cameras 79 00:03:41,639 --> 00:03:44,017 that can be deployed to extreme depths. 80 00:03:44,142 --> 00:03:46,394 ♪ ♪ 81 00:03:46,561 --> 00:03:49,689 Since 2017, Kraft and Petrel 82 00:03:49,773 --> 00:03:53,526 have discovered over 30 World War II ships 83 00:03:53,610 --> 00:03:57,238 and the final resting place of thousands of servicemen. 84 00:03:57,363 --> 00:03:59,324 ‐ It's really about them, 85 00:03:59,449 --> 00:04:01,242 and the service that these men gave for their country 86 00:04:01,367 --> 00:04:03,745 and paid the ultimate sacrifice. 87 00:04:03,870 --> 00:04:07,165 It's part of the reason we do what we do. 88 00:04:07,290 --> 00:04:08,792 Fishburne: And yet, this search will be 89 00:04:08,917 --> 00:04:13,296 Kraft and Petrel's greatest challenge. 90 00:04:13,379 --> 00:04:14,923 ‐ This is the biggest search project 91 00:04:15,048 --> 00:04:18,051 we have and will undertake. 92 00:04:18,218 --> 00:04:19,511 And the reality is, 93 00:04:19,636 --> 00:04:21,262 is there is no smoking gun here. 94 00:04:21,387 --> 00:04:23,681 There is no one piece of evidence 95 00:04:23,848 --> 00:04:25,850 that is going to put an X on a map and say they're here. 96 00:04:25,975 --> 00:04:28,895 It just doesn't exist. 97 00:04:29,020 --> 00:04:32,482 You really kind of have to put yourself back in 1945 98 00:04:32,565 --> 00:04:36,694 and try and understand what these men were going through. 99 00:04:36,820 --> 00:04:38,905 Fishburne: The case of Flight 19 100 00:04:39,030 --> 00:04:42,325 begins on December 5th, 1945, 101 00:04:42,408 --> 00:04:46,037 at the Fort Lauderdale naval air station. 102 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:48,540 It's 2:20 p. m. 103 00:04:48,623 --> 00:04:51,918 Five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers 104 00:04:52,043 --> 00:04:54,128 prepare to take off on a training mission 105 00:04:54,254 --> 00:04:56,172 designated "Flight 19." 106 00:04:56,297 --> 00:04:59,425 [indistinct radio chatter] 107 00:04:59,551 --> 00:05:01,886 A choppy wind kicks up, 108 00:05:02,053 --> 00:05:04,764 but visibility was unlimited with blue skies. 109 00:05:04,889 --> 00:05:08,393 [indistinct radio chatter] 110 00:05:08,518 --> 00:05:11,813 The mission should have lasted just over two hours. 111 00:05:11,938 --> 00:05:14,190 ♪ ♪ 112 00:05:14,274 --> 00:05:16,359 Instead, these five planes, 113 00:05:16,526 --> 00:05:18,695 carrying a total of 14 men, 114 00:05:18,862 --> 00:05:20,113 disappear. 115 00:05:20,238 --> 00:05:25,785 ♪ ♪ 116 00:05:25,910 --> 00:05:28,872 Hours later, a Martin Mariner rescue plane 117 00:05:28,997 --> 00:05:32,625 with a crew of 13 goes looking for them. 118 00:05:32,750 --> 00:05:35,378 ♪ ♪ 119 00:05:35,503 --> 00:05:38,590 It, too, vanishes. 120 00:05:38,715 --> 00:05:44,596 ♪ ♪ 121 00:05:46,931 --> 00:05:50,768 ‐ That Martin Mariner also failed to return to base. 122 00:05:50,894 --> 00:05:55,064 It is so bizarre for us to try to comprehend. 123 00:05:55,231 --> 00:05:58,192 Twenty‐seven U. S. Navy sailors 124 00:05:58,318 --> 00:06:00,361 lost their lives. 125 00:06:00,445 --> 00:06:03,031 They disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle, 126 00:06:03,156 --> 00:06:06,534 and there has still never been an adequate explanation 127 00:06:06,659 --> 00:06:07,702 for what happened to them. 128 00:06:07,827 --> 00:06:10,455 ♪ ♪ 129 00:06:10,580 --> 00:06:13,374 It was a routine training flight. 130 00:06:13,499 --> 00:06:15,710 They were supposed to take off, drop some bombs, 131 00:06:15,877 --> 00:06:19,339 shoot a little navigation and then come back to base. 132 00:06:19,422 --> 00:06:22,842 Fishburne: So what happened to Flight 19? 133 00:06:22,967 --> 00:06:27,096 Did they crash somewhere near Florida's coast? 134 00:06:27,221 --> 00:06:31,684 Did they get hopelessly lost, ditching far out to sea? 135 00:06:31,809 --> 00:06:34,062 Or did they make it back to land, 136 00:06:34,228 --> 00:06:36,773 crashing in Florida? 137 00:06:36,898 --> 00:06:39,025 ‐ This is not a needle in a haystack. 138 00:06:39,150 --> 00:06:43,613 This is orders of magnitude more difficult than that. 139 00:06:43,738 --> 00:06:47,867 I mean, this was the largest Navy search ever conducted. 140 00:06:47,951 --> 00:06:50,703 And they found nothing out there. 141 00:06:50,828 --> 00:06:52,538 Fishburne: Fully fueled, 142 00:06:52,664 --> 00:06:55,416 the TBM Avengers lost on Flight 19 143 00:06:55,541 --> 00:06:58,336 had a range of a thousand miles, 144 00:06:58,461 --> 00:07:00,546 creating a massive potential search area. 145 00:07:00,713 --> 00:07:02,674 [indistinct radio chatter] 146 00:07:02,757 --> 00:07:05,301 ‐ No one has found anything. 147 00:07:05,385 --> 00:07:07,428 ♪ ♪ 148 00:07:07,553 --> 00:07:09,138 So, really, all the cards are still on the table. 149 00:07:12,475 --> 00:07:14,102 Fishburne: Aboard RV Petrel, 150 00:07:14,227 --> 00:07:17,563 Kraft has invited David O'Keefe and Wayne Abbott 151 00:07:17,730 --> 00:07:19,691 to help narrow the search area. 152 00:07:19,816 --> 00:07:21,359 ‐ And I think you're right, I think that would be the area 153 00:07:21,484 --> 00:07:23,111 that we'd have to start at. 154 00:07:23,236 --> 00:07:25,196 Fishburne: David served in the Canadian infantry, 155 00:07:25,321 --> 00:07:27,740 and is now a military historian. 156 00:07:27,907 --> 00:07:29,534 ‐ I did two and a half years in uniform 157 00:07:29,659 --> 00:07:31,703 with one of the most famous regiments in Canada, 158 00:07:31,869 --> 00:07:34,205 which was the Black Watch of Canada. 159 00:07:34,330 --> 00:07:36,708 I was recruited from there 160 00:07:36,833 --> 00:07:39,794 to actually work as part of the official historical team. 161 00:07:39,919 --> 00:07:42,880 Going through old files and archives, that's my forte. 162 00:07:43,006 --> 00:07:45,633 That's what I love to do. There's nothing like it. 163 00:07:45,717 --> 00:07:49,012 Fishburne: Wayne is an historical investigator 164 00:07:49,137 --> 00:07:52,515 obsessed with Flight 19 since he was a kid. 165 00:07:52,682 --> 00:07:54,684 ‐ I was early teens 166 00:07:54,767 --> 00:07:57,020 when "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" 167 00:07:57,103 --> 00:07:58,479 came out in the theaters. 168 00:07:58,563 --> 00:07:59,731 And that was really the first time 169 00:07:59,897 --> 00:08:02,400 I heard about the story of Flight 19. 170 00:08:02,525 --> 00:08:04,402 And it's an iconic opening. 171 00:08:04,527 --> 00:08:06,362 I mean, these scientists are going through 172 00:08:06,487 --> 00:08:10,867 the dusty Mexican desert. 173 00:08:10,992 --> 00:08:15,413 All of a sudden you see five perfect planes from Flight 19. 174 00:08:15,580 --> 00:08:18,541 ‐ Who flies crates like these anymore? 175 00:08:18,624 --> 00:08:23,337 ‐ No one. These planes were reported missing in 1945. 176 00:08:23,463 --> 00:08:25,673 ‐ I don't understand! 177 00:08:25,798 --> 00:08:28,342 Fishburne: In the film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," 178 00:08:28,468 --> 00:08:32,221 Flight 19 is abducted by aliens. 179 00:08:32,388 --> 00:08:34,891 To find out what really happened, 180 00:08:35,016 --> 00:08:36,601 Wayne and David are helping Kraft 181 00:08:36,726 --> 00:08:38,853 dig into the official report 182 00:08:38,936 --> 00:08:44,025 from the Navy Board of Inquiry that investigated Flight 19. 183 00:08:44,150 --> 00:08:48,446 ‐ This is all we have, so this is what we have to use. 184 00:08:48,571 --> 00:08:52,241 ‐ Nobody knew truly where the planes were. 185 00:08:52,366 --> 00:08:53,576 But there is a lot of evidence 186 00:08:53,701 --> 00:08:55,578 within the Board of Inquiry report 187 00:08:55,703 --> 00:08:58,039 of radio transmissions. 188 00:08:58,164 --> 00:09:01,084 And there's just great little tidbits of information. 189 00:09:01,209 --> 00:09:03,503 ♪ ♪ 190 00:09:03,628 --> 00:09:05,421 Fishburne: According to the report, 191 00:09:05,546 --> 00:09:08,466 signs of trouble began an hour and a half after takeoff. 192 00:09:08,591 --> 00:09:11,094 ♪ ♪ 193 00:09:11,219 --> 00:09:13,304 3:40 p. m. 194 00:09:13,387 --> 00:09:14,889 Lieutenant Charles Taylor, 195 00:09:15,056 --> 00:09:18,017 the instructor leading Flight 19, 196 00:09:18,101 --> 00:09:21,312 radios one the other pilots saying he thinks they're lost. 197 00:09:21,395 --> 00:09:25,024 ‐ Powers, do you copy? 198 00:09:25,149 --> 00:09:27,360 I think we got lost on the last turn. 199 00:09:27,485 --> 00:09:31,030 ♪ ♪ 200 00:09:31,197 --> 00:09:33,699 Fishburne: Back near Fort Lauderdale, 201 00:09:33,825 --> 00:09:36,661 another Flight instructor, Lieutenant Robert Cox, 202 00:09:36,744 --> 00:09:40,206 overhears Flight 19's radio traffic. 203 00:09:40,289 --> 00:09:42,583 ‐ Both the compasses are out. We're lost. 204 00:09:42,750 --> 00:09:44,377 I'm sure we're over the Keys, 205 00:09:44,544 --> 00:09:47,421 but I'm not sure how far down 206 00:09:47,547 --> 00:09:49,882 or how to get back to Lauderdale. 207 00:09:50,049 --> 00:09:51,968 Fishburne: According to Cox, 208 00:09:52,093 --> 00:09:55,263 Taylor was convinced Flight 19 was over the Florida Keys, 209 00:09:55,388 --> 00:09:59,392 well off their flight path. 210 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:03,604 Cox instructed Taylor to fly northeast till they hit Miami, 211 00:10:03,729 --> 00:10:06,983 and then on to Fort Lauderdale. 212 00:10:07,108 --> 00:10:09,443 ♪ ♪ 213 00:10:09,569 --> 00:10:11,863 But they never made it. 214 00:10:11,946 --> 00:10:14,031 ♪ ♪ 215 00:10:14,157 --> 00:10:17,535 Where were they? 216 00:10:17,660 --> 00:10:19,495 ‐ The flight leader, Charles Taylor, 217 00:10:19,579 --> 00:10:21,998 is completely confused about his position. 218 00:10:22,081 --> 00:10:24,333 Fishburne: The report says that at 1750, 219 00:10:24,458 --> 00:10:27,378 military time for 5:50 p. m., 220 00:10:27,545 --> 00:10:32,508 the Navy triangulated a rough position fix on Flight 19. 221 00:10:32,592 --> 00:10:34,760 ‐ And what we can see from the rudimentary data that we have 222 00:10:34,886 --> 00:10:36,637 is that the flight is actually progressing 223 00:10:36,762 --> 00:10:40,349 off the southeastern part of Florida. 224 00:10:40,474 --> 00:10:41,684 Fishburne: Charles Taylor thought 225 00:10:41,809 --> 00:10:43,269 he'd gotten badly turned around 226 00:10:43,394 --> 00:10:46,355 and was over the Gulf. 227 00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:50,776 But the location fix puts them north of the Bahamas. 228 00:10:50,902 --> 00:10:52,820 If Taylor did turn northeast, 229 00:10:52,904 --> 00:10:55,531 he would have been leading them even deeper 230 00:10:55,656 --> 00:10:58,159 into the Bermuda Triangle. 231 00:10:58,242 --> 00:11:02,663 ‐ This is the 1750 fix that the Navy put them at, 232 00:11:02,747 --> 00:11:05,082 and there is the 100 nautical mile radius. 233 00:11:05,208 --> 00:11:08,044 Fishburne: Kraft uses the bearings 234 00:11:08,211 --> 00:11:11,380 to calculate Petrel's search grid. 235 00:11:11,547 --> 00:11:13,341 It's an area more than twice the size 236 00:11:13,507 --> 00:11:15,551 of the state of Rhode Island, 237 00:11:15,676 --> 00:11:18,387 with an average depth of 3,000 feet. 238 00:11:18,554 --> 00:11:22,308 ‐ I mean, we're talking nearly 2,600 square nautical miles. 239 00:11:22,391 --> 00:11:25,686 And we're looking for a target that is, you know‐‐ 240 00:11:25,853 --> 00:11:29,315 the wingspan on an Avenger is 50 feet. 241 00:11:29,398 --> 00:11:31,692 Fishburne: Undaunted, 242 00:11:31,776 --> 00:11:34,403 Kraft begins the search. 243 00:11:34,528 --> 00:11:36,781 ♪ ♪ 244 00:11:36,906 --> 00:11:38,908 It starts with some of the world's deepest diving 245 00:11:39,033 --> 00:11:43,246 autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs. 246 00:11:43,371 --> 00:11:47,375 Able to reach depths of more than three miles. 247 00:11:47,458 --> 00:11:49,919 ‐ Ready? ‐ It's a drone 248 00:11:50,044 --> 00:11:51,420 that we program on the surface. 249 00:11:51,545 --> 00:11:52,797 We tell it where we want it to go 250 00:11:52,922 --> 00:11:54,715 and what we want it to do, 251 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:57,134 And it goes and does its mission all by itself. 252 00:11:57,260 --> 00:11:59,011 [sonar pinging] 253 00:11:59,136 --> 00:12:01,055 Fishburne: Once the AUV nears the seafloor, 254 00:12:01,222 --> 00:12:04,475 it follows a grid pattern and emits bursts of sonar 255 00:12:04,558 --> 00:12:08,187 to create a detailed undersea map. 256 00:12:08,312 --> 00:12:12,984 Any unnatural shapes it finds could be wrecks. 257 00:12:13,109 --> 00:12:15,695 ‐ We have been lucky enough to find targets 258 00:12:15,861 --> 00:12:18,990 on the first dive in the past. 259 00:12:19,073 --> 00:12:21,284 I do not feel that level of confidence here. 260 00:12:21,409 --> 00:12:23,744 ♪ ♪ 261 00:12:23,911 --> 00:12:26,289 There we go. Dive one. 262 00:12:26,414 --> 00:12:31,794 ♪ ♪ 263 00:12:34,922 --> 00:12:37,258 Fishburne: As the AUV begins the search, 264 00:12:37,383 --> 00:12:39,427 Petrel's chief technician and lead researcher, 265 00:12:39,552 --> 00:12:43,055 Paul Mayer, reviews what an aircraft in deep water 266 00:12:43,222 --> 00:12:44,682 might look like. 267 00:12:44,765 --> 00:12:48,686 ‐ Here is a 3D model of an F4F. 268 00:12:48,769 --> 00:12:50,187 This is in about 10,000 feet of water, 269 00:12:50,313 --> 00:12:52,398 so the paint is still in very good condition. 270 00:12:52,523 --> 00:12:54,608 Fishburne: This F4F Wildcat 271 00:12:54,734 --> 00:12:57,903 is part of the Petrel's 2018 discovery 272 00:12:58,029 --> 00:13:01,365 of the carrier U. S. S. Lexington. 273 00:13:01,490 --> 00:13:03,200 ♪ ♪ 274 00:13:03,326 --> 00:13:05,369 The team discovered 35 aircraft 275 00:13:05,536 --> 00:13:08,039 that went down with the ship. 276 00:13:08,164 --> 00:13:10,041 ♪ ♪ 277 00:13:10,207 --> 00:13:12,293 In this deepwater environment, 278 00:13:12,418 --> 00:13:15,880 low oxygen levels reduce corrosion. 279 00:13:16,005 --> 00:13:17,757 These planes have been on the ocean floor 280 00:13:17,882 --> 00:13:20,634 for nearly eight decades. 281 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:24,013 Yet the paint still looks fresh. 282 00:13:24,138 --> 00:13:26,849 ‐ On this particular aircraft, we have victory tallies here 283 00:13:26,974 --> 00:13:29,185 of how many Japanese planes were shot down. 284 00:13:29,310 --> 00:13:31,145 There's a bomb here, 285 00:13:31,228 --> 00:13:33,689 representing that he did a bombing mission. 286 00:13:33,856 --> 00:13:36,525 And then the insignia of that flight group. 287 00:13:36,609 --> 00:13:38,319 ♪ ♪ 288 00:13:38,402 --> 00:13:41,197 Fishburne: If Flight 19 is in deep water, 289 00:13:41,322 --> 00:13:45,034 the chances of a positive identification are high. 290 00:13:45,201 --> 00:13:49,747 ♪ ♪ 291 00:13:49,914 --> 00:13:52,583 Thirteen hours later, in the dead of night, 292 00:13:52,708 --> 00:13:55,544 the AUV completes its first dive. 293 00:13:55,669 --> 00:14:01,300 ♪ ♪ 294 00:14:02,927 --> 00:14:04,804 Kraft reviews the data. 295 00:14:04,887 --> 00:14:07,681 He immediately spots something. 296 00:14:07,765 --> 00:14:08,808 ‐ It stands out. 297 00:14:08,891 --> 00:14:10,434 It's an extremely bright, 298 00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:12,061 high‐contrast target. 299 00:14:12,186 --> 00:14:13,354 It could be something manmade. 300 00:14:13,437 --> 00:14:15,272 So we need to go 301 00:14:15,398 --> 00:14:18,025 put some eyes on those and figure out what they are. 302 00:14:18,192 --> 00:14:19,860 Fishburne: Could Rob Kraft's instincts 303 00:14:19,985 --> 00:14:22,696 be proven right yet again? 304 00:14:22,780 --> 00:14:25,241 Is this Flight 19? 305 00:14:29,412 --> 00:14:30,454 ♪ 306 00:14:30,579 --> 00:14:33,874 Fishburne: It's day two of the search for Flight 19, 307 00:14:33,999 --> 00:14:37,753 the Bermuda Triangle's greatest mystery. 308 00:14:37,878 --> 00:14:40,506 What happened to five torpedo bombers 309 00:14:40,589 --> 00:14:43,467 that disappeared in 1945? 310 00:14:43,551 --> 00:14:45,928 ♪ ♪ 311 00:14:46,053 --> 00:14:49,849 Aboard RV Petrel, explorer Rob Kraft 312 00:14:49,974 --> 00:14:52,351 has detected a promising target. 313 00:14:52,435 --> 00:14:55,146 ‐ It stands out. It could be something manmade. 314 00:14:55,229 --> 00:14:57,314 Fishburne: To get a visual, 315 00:14:57,398 --> 00:15:01,861 he deploys a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, 316 00:15:01,986 --> 00:15:05,531 fitted with an array of cameras. 317 00:15:05,656 --> 00:15:07,533 ‐ And you're going down. 318 00:15:07,700 --> 00:15:09,201 And feet are wet. You're in. 319 00:15:09,326 --> 00:15:12,955 ♪ ♪ 320 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:15,791 All right, we're ready for some thrusters. 321 00:15:15,916 --> 00:15:17,418 ‐ Altimeters on. 322 00:15:17,543 --> 00:15:18,919 ‐ There you go, it's up. 323 00:15:19,044 --> 00:15:22,131 We'll be just a meter off the bottom. 324 00:15:22,214 --> 00:15:23,716 Sound speed still 1522. 325 00:15:23,841 --> 00:15:27,678 ♪ ♪ 326 00:15:27,803 --> 00:15:30,848 ‐ Here's the bottom. 327 00:15:30,973 --> 00:15:32,683 ‐ I think you're about 70, 75 meters 328 00:15:32,808 --> 00:15:36,187 due north of this, Rudy. 329 00:15:36,270 --> 00:15:38,481 What's that over to the left? Did you see that? 330 00:15:38,564 --> 00:15:40,357 ♪ ♪ 331 00:15:40,441 --> 00:15:41,775 Hold your heading right there, Rudy. 332 00:15:41,901 --> 00:15:43,694 Just hold there. 333 00:15:43,819 --> 00:15:46,489 ‐ What is that? 334 00:15:46,572 --> 00:15:48,365 ‐ That's a squid. 335 00:15:48,532 --> 00:15:50,367 ‐ Oh, yeah. 336 00:15:50,534 --> 00:15:54,038 ♪ ♪ 337 00:15:54,121 --> 00:15:57,249 ‐ Look at all that biology. 338 00:15:57,416 --> 00:15:59,502 145, that is our waypoint. 339 00:15:59,585 --> 00:16:04,298 ♪ ♪ 340 00:16:04,381 --> 00:16:07,051 ‐ We're just coming up on it now. 341 00:16:07,176 --> 00:16:09,803 And it appears to be... 342 00:16:09,929 --> 00:16:11,847 ♪ ♪ 343 00:16:12,014 --> 00:16:13,682 ‐ You think it's a wheel? 344 00:16:13,807 --> 00:16:16,685 ‐ No. It's a rock. 345 00:16:16,810 --> 00:16:21,649 It's just some form of rocks. 346 00:16:21,774 --> 00:16:25,444 Fishburne: It's just a geological anomaly. 347 00:16:25,569 --> 00:16:29,615 Sonar this sensitive will produce some false targets. 348 00:16:29,740 --> 00:16:31,283 ‐ Box ticked? ‐ Box ticked. 349 00:16:31,408 --> 00:16:33,118 ‐ On target. ‐ Bring it up. 350 00:16:33,244 --> 00:16:34,870 Fishburne: But for Kraft, 351 00:16:35,037 --> 00:16:36,413 there is a silver lining. 352 00:16:36,539 --> 00:16:38,374 ‐ It's not mountainous like we see 353 00:16:38,499 --> 00:16:40,042 in a lot of deepwater environments. 354 00:16:40,125 --> 00:16:41,335 So it's fairly flat. 355 00:16:41,460 --> 00:16:42,670 So we've got a pretty good chance 356 00:16:42,795 --> 00:16:44,713 of identifying these targets. 357 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:47,716 [thunder rumbles] 358 00:16:47,841 --> 00:16:51,136 Fishburne: But search operations must now be halted. 359 00:16:51,220 --> 00:16:52,972 ‐ The weather has come up pretty fast 360 00:16:53,055 --> 00:16:55,349 and ahead of schedule. 361 00:16:55,516 --> 00:16:57,017 We got to get the vehicle up and get it on deck 362 00:16:57,101 --> 00:16:58,852 while we still have this window. 363 00:16:58,978 --> 00:17:03,357 ♪ ♪ 364 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:05,359 We're getting everything secured for sea, 365 00:17:05,526 --> 00:17:07,027 because it's gonna be a rough ride in. 366 00:17:07,111 --> 00:17:08,571 You start running at 10 knots, 367 00:17:08,696 --> 00:17:11,365 and it's gonna get pretty lively out here. 368 00:17:11,490 --> 00:17:14,410 ♪ ♪ 369 00:17:14,577 --> 00:17:16,829 Fishburne: Petrel is being chased back to port 370 00:17:16,912 --> 00:17:18,330 by the Bermuda Triangle's 371 00:17:18,414 --> 00:17:21,834 freak and dangerous weather swings. 372 00:17:21,917 --> 00:17:23,544 [thunder crashing] 373 00:17:23,711 --> 00:17:26,422 These sudden and violent storms, called white squalls, 374 00:17:26,547 --> 00:17:28,173 have sunk ships 375 00:17:28,257 --> 00:17:32,678 and added to the Triangle's deadly reputation. 376 00:17:32,803 --> 00:17:35,681 ‐ You had a lot of incidents where planes went missing, 377 00:17:35,806 --> 00:17:37,975 boats went missing. 378 00:17:38,100 --> 00:17:39,810 So you have to respect it 379 00:17:39,935 --> 00:17:42,021 and you have to fear it. 380 00:17:42,146 --> 00:17:43,647 Fishburne: The Bermuda Triangle 381 00:17:43,731 --> 00:17:46,984 borders some of Earth's most powerful forces. 382 00:17:47,067 --> 00:17:48,611 The Gulf Stream, 383 00:17:48,736 --> 00:17:51,030 the Atlantic's strongest current. 384 00:17:51,155 --> 00:17:54,033 Known to carry disabled ships and planes 385 00:17:54,199 --> 00:17:57,870 miles from their reported positions. 386 00:17:57,995 --> 00:18:01,540 A mid‐ocean area that is often eerily becalmed, 387 00:18:01,624 --> 00:18:06,337 trapping many a stranded vessel in a slow death grip. 388 00:18:06,420 --> 00:18:08,172 ♪ ♪ 389 00:18:08,297 --> 00:18:13,719 And the triangle is a superhighway for hurricanes. 390 00:18:13,844 --> 00:18:16,180 ‐ There's no doubt that this area is incredibly active. 391 00:18:16,305 --> 00:18:19,266 ‐ It is an area where there are anomalies 392 00:18:19,391 --> 00:18:22,144 that cannot be explained by physical science. 393 00:18:22,227 --> 00:18:23,520 [thunder crashing] 394 00:18:23,604 --> 00:18:25,564 Fishburne: And nowhere else has 395 00:18:25,689 --> 00:18:30,277 so many eyewitness accounts of paranormal activity, 396 00:18:30,402 --> 00:18:33,656 malfunctioning instruments and strange lights 397 00:18:33,739 --> 00:18:36,659 attributed to aliens or the supernatural. 398 00:18:36,784 --> 00:18:39,036 ‐ Look at that thing, dude. There's a whole fleet of them. 399 00:18:39,161 --> 00:18:40,537 Fishburne: The U. S. government 400 00:18:40,663 --> 00:18:43,832 recently revealed that in 2017, 401 00:18:43,916 --> 00:18:47,127 Navy pilots flying over the Bermuda Triangle 402 00:18:47,252 --> 00:18:49,463 captured UFOs on camera. 403 00:18:49,546 --> 00:18:51,298 ‐ My gosh! 404 00:18:51,382 --> 00:18:53,509 ‐ The facts are the facts. 405 00:18:53,634 --> 00:18:54,927 There are disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle 406 00:18:55,052 --> 00:18:56,261 that are unexplained. 407 00:18:56,387 --> 00:18:57,721 I don't think it's aliens, 408 00:18:57,846 --> 00:19:00,015 but no one's ever really 409 00:19:00,140 --> 00:19:02,976 discovered the smoking gun. 410 00:19:03,102 --> 00:19:06,730 ♪ ♪ 411 00:19:06,855 --> 00:19:09,817 Fishburne: While Kraft waits for the weather to calm, 412 00:19:09,942 --> 00:19:13,821 team members Wayne Abbott and David O'Keefe head inland. 413 00:19:13,904 --> 00:19:16,949 ♪ ♪ 414 00:19:17,074 --> 00:19:18,659 They're hunting for any evidence 415 00:19:18,784 --> 00:19:21,954 the planes crashed in Florida. 416 00:19:22,079 --> 00:19:24,081 ‐ There is one possibility 417 00:19:24,206 --> 00:19:25,916 that the planes that night 418 00:19:26,041 --> 00:19:29,878 actually decided to split up and go their own way. 419 00:19:30,003 --> 00:19:31,547 And if that's the case, 420 00:19:31,672 --> 00:19:36,009 then it is a possibility that some made it back to land. 421 00:19:36,135 --> 00:19:37,469 Fishburne: The theory that at least 422 00:19:37,553 --> 00:19:39,346 one plane made it back to land 423 00:19:39,430 --> 00:19:41,265 rests on cryptic evidence 424 00:19:41,390 --> 00:19:44,518 of possible dissension on Flight 19. 425 00:19:44,643 --> 00:19:46,478 ♪ ♪ 426 00:19:46,603 --> 00:19:48,856 Intercepted radio calls indicate 427 00:19:48,981 --> 00:19:50,399 that one of the student pilots, 428 00:19:50,566 --> 00:19:53,360 possibly Marine Captain Ed Powers, 429 00:19:53,485 --> 00:19:56,572 disagreed with instructor Charles Taylor 430 00:19:56,697 --> 00:20:00,659 that the flight was lost over the Florida Keys. 431 00:20:00,743 --> 00:20:04,371 Powers argued they were over the Atlantic. 432 00:20:04,455 --> 00:20:08,333 He urged Taylor to fly west. 433 00:20:08,417 --> 00:20:10,669 ‐ Damn it, we need to fly west. 434 00:20:10,794 --> 00:20:14,339 If we fly west, we will get home. 435 00:20:14,465 --> 00:20:16,341 ‐ There was some dissension in the ranks. 436 00:20:16,467 --> 00:20:18,677 And a guy like Captain Powers just says, 437 00:20:18,844 --> 00:20:20,471 you know, screw it. 438 00:20:20,554 --> 00:20:23,015 "Taylor, you've messed us around too long. 439 00:20:23,140 --> 00:20:27,102 I'm going to head towards land, because I know where we are." 440 00:20:27,227 --> 00:20:31,398 So that easily could have happened. 441 00:20:31,523 --> 00:20:33,400 Fishburne: Wayne and David have recently 442 00:20:33,525 --> 00:20:36,487 tracked down new evidence that could back up this theory. 443 00:20:36,570 --> 00:20:40,449 ♪ ♪ 444 00:20:40,574 --> 00:20:42,659 Just west of Vero Beach, Florida, 445 00:20:42,743 --> 00:20:45,037 they've come to meet Graham Stikelether, 446 00:20:45,204 --> 00:20:46,997 who is taking them back to the site 447 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:51,168 of a vivid boyhood memory. 448 00:20:51,251 --> 00:20:52,961 ‐ So how old were you at the time? 449 00:20:53,045 --> 00:20:54,713 ‐ I was nine. 450 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:56,256 ‐ So this is similar to what you remember? 451 00:20:56,381 --> 00:20:58,383 ‐ Yeah, it is. 452 00:20:58,509 --> 00:21:01,011 The first thing that you passed was the tail section. 453 00:21:01,178 --> 00:21:03,806 And then probably another, gosh, 454 00:21:03,889 --> 00:21:06,141 50 to 100 feet in front of there was the plane. 455 00:21:06,225 --> 00:21:09,102 ♪ ♪ 456 00:21:09,228 --> 00:21:11,188 Fishburne: In 1962, 457 00:21:11,355 --> 00:21:14,399 years after the disappearance of Flight 19, 458 00:21:14,566 --> 00:21:17,402 a nine‐year‐old Graham was brought here by his father 459 00:21:17,569 --> 00:21:20,656 to see a plane wreck. 460 00:21:20,739 --> 00:21:23,283 Graham's father, a Florida judge, 461 00:21:23,408 --> 00:21:25,911 discovered the wreck while hunting, 462 00:21:26,036 --> 00:21:29,081 and reported it to the Navy. 463 00:21:29,248 --> 00:21:33,544 He was told it was from Flight 19. 464 00:21:33,669 --> 00:21:35,838 But the wreck was removed, 465 00:21:35,921 --> 00:21:40,008 and the Navy later denied any knowledge of the incident. 466 00:21:40,133 --> 00:21:42,511 ‐ What did your father do upon finding the wreck? 467 00:21:42,594 --> 00:21:45,305 ‐ The first place he called was Patrick Air Force Base. 468 00:21:45,389 --> 00:21:48,976 They finally did pull the plane out, 469 00:21:49,059 --> 00:21:51,687 and there were bodies in it. 470 00:21:51,812 --> 00:21:54,523 ‐ Where did your father take this story then? 471 00:21:54,648 --> 00:21:56,024 ‐ He finally kind of hit a wall, 472 00:21:56,149 --> 00:22:00,571 and nobody talked to him anymore. 473 00:22:00,737 --> 00:22:03,448 ‐ What really raises a lot of mystery about this plane 474 00:22:03,574 --> 00:22:07,202 is the Navy told him that this was part of Flight 19. 475 00:22:07,327 --> 00:22:09,872 Unfortunately, no matter how much 476 00:22:09,997 --> 00:22:11,707 the judge went back to the Navy, 477 00:22:11,874 --> 00:22:14,042 he could not get any more information. 478 00:22:14,167 --> 00:22:16,920 ‐ As a researcher, you can't place too much faith 479 00:22:17,045 --> 00:22:18,630 in human memory. 480 00:22:18,714 --> 00:22:22,384 Human memory becomes fallible immediately after. 481 00:22:22,551 --> 00:22:25,512 We still needed some sort of concrete proof. 482 00:22:25,596 --> 00:22:27,097 Do you have anything that came from the plane? 483 00:22:27,222 --> 00:22:28,682 ‐ Yeah, I do. 484 00:22:28,807 --> 00:22:31,059 I do have pieces of the plane, and some bits. 485 00:22:31,184 --> 00:22:33,520 ‐ You have pieces of the plane that your father found? 486 00:22:33,645 --> 00:22:36,189 ‐ Yeah, absolutely. 487 00:22:36,315 --> 00:22:37,900 Fishburne: After his father died, 488 00:22:38,025 --> 00:22:40,652 Graham gave the plane pieces to a friend named Jimmy, 489 00:22:40,736 --> 00:22:44,281 who collects World War II memorabilia. 490 00:22:44,406 --> 00:22:48,201 Jimmy has agreed to meet Wayne and David. 491 00:22:48,327 --> 00:22:49,870 Are they about to uncover 492 00:22:49,995 --> 00:22:53,123 a piece of the legendary Flight 19? 493 00:22:53,248 --> 00:22:55,167 ‐ Here it is. ‐ Oh! There we go. 494 00:22:55,250 --> 00:22:56,543 [all laugh] 495 00:23:00,714 --> 00:23:03,592 Fishburne: Wayne Abbott and David O'Keefe 496 00:23:03,717 --> 00:23:07,429 are part of a team of Bermuda Triangle investigators. 497 00:23:07,554 --> 00:23:10,766 They're now in Florida to examine plane wreckage. 498 00:23:13,226 --> 00:23:14,686 ‐ Here it is, fellas. 499 00:23:14,770 --> 00:23:16,313 Fishburne: It was found on this spot, 500 00:23:16,438 --> 00:23:18,690 and is allegedly part of Flight 19. 501 00:23:18,857 --> 00:23:20,567 ‐ That's a 50‐cal. ‐ That looks great. 502 00:23:20,692 --> 00:23:22,861 ‐ That is a 50‐caliber. 503 00:23:22,986 --> 00:23:25,781 ‐ Yes, this is M2 aircraft 50‐caliber, 504 00:23:25,906 --> 00:23:27,532 which I believe would have been mounted 505 00:23:27,616 --> 00:23:28,867 in the wing of the aircraft. 506 00:23:29,034 --> 00:23:30,285 ‐ And this is the mount? 507 00:23:30,410 --> 00:23:32,829 ‐ That would be the forward mount 508 00:23:32,913 --> 00:23:35,374 that would've attached to this portion of the gun. 509 00:23:35,540 --> 00:23:37,376 Fishburne: David compares the parts 510 00:23:37,501 --> 00:23:41,463 to a schematic from a TBM Avenger manual. 511 00:23:41,546 --> 00:23:43,507 ‐ Looking at this picture, if you look right there... 512 00:23:43,632 --> 00:23:45,676 ‐ Yeah, there's the ball. There's the mount. 513 00:23:45,801 --> 00:23:47,386 ‐ Look at that. ‐ That is. 514 00:23:47,552 --> 00:23:49,137 ‐ That is it. 515 00:23:49,221 --> 00:23:51,348 Fishburne: The TBM‐3 Avenger 516 00:23:51,515 --> 00:23:54,601 had 50‐cal machines guns mounted in its wings. 517 00:23:54,726 --> 00:23:56,895 This gun was used on many planes. 518 00:23:57,062 --> 00:24:02,150 But the small mount is unique to the Avenger. 519 00:24:02,275 --> 00:24:04,319 ♪ ♪ 520 00:24:04,403 --> 00:24:07,197 Making it likely this gun came off of the same kind of planes 521 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,075 lost on Flight 19. 522 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,369 ♪ ♪ 523 00:24:12,494 --> 00:24:13,787 ‐ Is there any other markings on here? 524 00:24:13,912 --> 00:24:15,372 ‐ There are. 525 00:24:15,539 --> 00:24:16,915 The original markings from the factory. 526 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:18,709 And there is a serial number, which... 527 00:24:18,834 --> 00:24:20,335 ‐ A serial number. ‐ Yes! 528 00:24:20,419 --> 00:24:21,753 All right, this is great. 529 00:24:21,878 --> 00:24:23,130 This is great, 530 00:24:23,255 --> 00:24:25,382 because all of these were logged, 531 00:24:25,549 --> 00:24:28,176 particularly when it came to armaments on planes, 532 00:24:28,301 --> 00:24:30,637 and somewhere in the archives, 533 00:24:30,721 --> 00:24:34,266 there is going to be a log of this. 534 00:24:34,391 --> 00:24:35,934 ‐ The big reason that having a machine gun is great 535 00:24:36,059 --> 00:24:38,020 is because it comes with a serial number, 536 00:24:38,145 --> 00:24:40,522 and with a serial number, we might be able to find out 537 00:24:40,605 --> 00:24:42,399 what plane this came off of. 538 00:24:42,524 --> 00:24:44,359 We might be able to find out who the pilots 539 00:24:44,526 --> 00:24:47,404 and the rest of the crew were. 540 00:24:47,529 --> 00:24:49,072 ‐ This is the best piece of hard evidence 541 00:24:49,197 --> 00:24:51,408 we've ever come across. 542 00:24:51,533 --> 00:24:53,702 Fishburne: As David follows the trail 543 00:24:53,785 --> 00:24:56,997 of the serial number... 544 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:00,542 another member of the Bermuda Triangle investigation team, 545 00:25:00,667 --> 00:25:02,794 seasoned explorer Mike Barnette, 546 00:25:02,919 --> 00:25:06,840 is opening up a new search. 547 00:25:07,007 --> 00:25:09,176 His dive team will focus on the waters 548 00:25:09,301 --> 00:25:11,511 along Florida's coastline. 549 00:25:11,595 --> 00:25:13,263 ‐ I've been working in the Bermuda Triangle, 550 00:25:13,388 --> 00:25:16,516 or as I call it the [bleep] Triangle, for 30 years. 551 00:25:16,683 --> 00:25:18,477 Fishburne: As a scientist, 552 00:25:18,602 --> 00:25:20,228 Barnette believes these disappearances 553 00:25:20,353 --> 00:25:23,273 have a rational explanation. 554 00:25:23,398 --> 00:25:25,192 ‐ There's all sorts of theories about what's going on here, 555 00:25:25,275 --> 00:25:28,195 whether it's the paranormal phenomenon, UFOs, 556 00:25:28,278 --> 00:25:31,281 time warps, Atlantis. 557 00:25:31,406 --> 00:25:32,908 Fishburne: In the film 558 00:25:33,075 --> 00:25:34,618 "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," 559 00:25:34,743 --> 00:25:37,412 another famous Bermuda Triangle disappearance, 560 00:25:37,579 --> 00:25:39,581 the ship called the Cotopaxi, 561 00:25:39,706 --> 00:25:41,541 was set down by extraterrestrials 562 00:25:41,708 --> 00:25:45,003 in the Gobi Desert. 563 00:25:45,128 --> 00:25:47,506 Barnette recently found the Cotopaxi 564 00:25:47,589 --> 00:25:50,092 and worked out what really happened. 565 00:25:50,217 --> 00:25:54,596 ‐ The Cotopaxi was caught in a storm on November 30th, 1925, 566 00:25:54,721 --> 00:25:57,015 and she sank in just over 100 feet of water 567 00:25:57,099 --> 00:25:59,851 about 40 miles off the coast of Florida. 568 00:25:59,976 --> 00:26:01,645 ♪ ♪ 569 00:26:01,770 --> 00:26:04,022 There's no need for additional drama. 570 00:26:04,147 --> 00:26:06,775 The weather can provide all the drama you ever would want. 571 00:26:06,900 --> 00:26:08,693 I mean, the weather can go from flat calm 572 00:26:08,777 --> 00:26:10,654 to raging, you know, 573 00:26:10,737 --> 00:26:13,448 seven‐to‐ten‐foot seas and 25‐knot winds 574 00:26:13,573 --> 00:26:15,617 in the snap of a finger. 575 00:26:15,742 --> 00:26:17,536 Fishburne: To find Flight 19, 576 00:26:17,661 --> 00:26:19,371 Barnette's using the same approach he used 577 00:26:19,454 --> 00:26:21,540 to find the Cotopaxi: 578 00:26:21,623 --> 00:26:24,167 follow the fish. 579 00:26:24,251 --> 00:26:26,419 ‐ Fish are after structure and habitat, 580 00:26:26,545 --> 00:26:28,505 and shipwrecks provide great habitat. 581 00:26:28,672 --> 00:26:30,757 Fishburne: Shipwrecks are like mini reefs 582 00:26:30,882 --> 00:26:33,844 that make for rich fishing ground. 583 00:26:33,969 --> 00:26:37,764 There are hundreds off Florida's coast. 584 00:26:37,889 --> 00:26:39,850 And the fishermen who make their living off these wrecks 585 00:26:39,975 --> 00:26:43,395 can provide valuable leads. 586 00:26:43,562 --> 00:26:44,688 ‐ They know where the wrecks are. 587 00:26:44,813 --> 00:26:46,022 They don't know what the wrecks are, 588 00:26:46,148 --> 00:26:49,109 but they know there's something there. 589 00:26:49,234 --> 00:26:51,027 I've worked with all sorts of commercial fishermen, 590 00:26:51,194 --> 00:26:53,738 whether it be draggers or trawlers. 591 00:26:53,905 --> 00:26:55,907 Or, in this case, I'm working with Captain Jeff Marinko, 592 00:26:56,074 --> 00:26:59,494 who is a commercial spear fisherman. 593 00:26:59,578 --> 00:27:00,662 There's a little bit of current, 594 00:27:00,787 --> 00:27:02,664 then we can do whatever we want. 595 00:27:02,747 --> 00:27:03,874 ‐ Me and Barney have been friends a long time, 596 00:27:03,999 --> 00:27:05,792 and he wanted to come out here 597 00:27:05,917 --> 00:27:07,169 and check out some wrecks off of North Florida 598 00:27:07,335 --> 00:27:09,171 that we've been talking about for years. 599 00:27:12,382 --> 00:27:13,550 You know, a lot of these wrecks, 600 00:27:13,717 --> 00:27:15,093 a lot of people lost their lives, 601 00:27:15,218 --> 00:27:18,096 so anytime you can identify something 602 00:27:18,221 --> 00:27:22,309 and finish the equation of what happened to it, 603 00:27:22,392 --> 00:27:25,187 I think it's a good thing. 604 00:27:25,312 --> 00:27:27,522 ‐ There's a mystery wreck the captain's told us about. 605 00:27:27,647 --> 00:27:29,566 No one knows what it is. 606 00:27:29,733 --> 00:27:33,111 Fishburne: The dive team includes Jimmy Gadomski 607 00:27:33,236 --> 00:27:36,448 and underwater cinematographer Evan Kovacs. 608 00:27:36,573 --> 00:27:37,866 ‐ What's the range? Depth range? 609 00:27:37,991 --> 00:27:40,160 ‐ 130 to almost 200 feet of water. 610 00:27:40,243 --> 00:27:42,370 Fishburne: They're rated to hit extreme depths 611 00:27:42,495 --> 00:27:44,539 of up to 500 feet, 612 00:27:44,623 --> 00:27:47,167 close to the limit for human divers. 613 00:27:47,250 --> 00:27:48,919 ‐ Just starting to mark the edge of the wreck now. 614 00:27:49,002 --> 00:27:50,378 ‐ Now we're starting to see some stuff. 615 00:27:50,503 --> 00:27:52,589 The bottom's at 160, 165, 616 00:27:52,714 --> 00:27:54,466 and we're seeing the fish up to 140. 617 00:27:54,549 --> 00:27:56,384 So there's definitely something here. 618 00:27:56,509 --> 00:27:58,595 ‐ I'm ready when you are if you want to try to hook it now. 619 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:00,347 [dramatic music] 620 00:28:00,472 --> 00:28:02,349 ‐ Cool. 621 00:28:02,474 --> 00:28:09,356 ♪ ♪ 622 00:28:09,439 --> 00:28:13,360 Fishburne: Below, they find not a plane, 623 00:28:13,443 --> 00:28:16,112 but a 200‐foot shipwreck. 624 00:28:16,238 --> 00:28:18,907 Could this be an important piece 625 00:28:19,074 --> 00:28:23,828 of the Bermuda Triangle mystery? 626 00:28:29,084 --> 00:28:32,170 Fishburne: Mike Barnette is part of a team of investigators 627 00:28:32,295 --> 00:28:36,675 exploring the legendary Bermuda Triangle. 628 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,010 Searching for a lost squadron of Navy bombers, 629 00:28:39,177 --> 00:28:41,513 they may have stumbled upon another 630 00:28:41,596 --> 00:28:44,849 of the Triangle's victims: 631 00:28:44,975 --> 00:28:48,561 a massive shipwreck. 632 00:28:48,728 --> 00:28:53,108 What is it? 633 00:28:53,233 --> 00:28:55,318 ‐ We found a wreck that was about 200 feet long 634 00:28:55,443 --> 00:28:59,531 and about 24 1/2‐foot beam. 635 00:28:59,656 --> 00:29:02,200 We noticed it was carrying a very bizarre cargo. 636 00:29:02,325 --> 00:29:05,954 It was white clay‐like material. 637 00:29:06,079 --> 00:29:07,539 ‐ We took a sample of that, because we figured 638 00:29:07,664 --> 00:29:09,833 if we can identify the cargo, 639 00:29:09,916 --> 00:29:13,128 potentially we could identify the wreck. 640 00:29:13,211 --> 00:29:16,172 Fishburne: Barnette's team heads to the surface 641 00:29:16,256 --> 00:29:18,675 to try to work out what they've found. 642 00:29:18,842 --> 00:29:21,761 ♪ ♪ 643 00:29:21,886 --> 00:29:23,263 ‐ This is a sample of cargo. 644 00:29:23,388 --> 00:29:25,849 It just looks like a white‐grayish clay, 645 00:29:25,932 --> 00:29:28,643 but it's just tons of it down there. 646 00:29:28,768 --> 00:29:30,603 So I'm curious what this is. 647 00:29:30,729 --> 00:29:32,981 ♪ ♪ 648 00:29:33,064 --> 00:29:34,357 Fishburne: After assessing the evidence, 649 00:29:34,524 --> 00:29:36,234 Barnette matches the wreck 650 00:29:36,359 --> 00:29:40,447 to a famous unsolved Bermuda Triangle disappearance. 651 00:29:40,572 --> 00:29:44,826 A cargo ship lost in April 1950 and never heard from again: 652 00:29:44,909 --> 00:29:49,039 the Sandra. 653 00:29:49,122 --> 00:29:54,085 The Sandra left Savannah with a 12‐man crew and vanished. 654 00:29:54,210 --> 00:29:55,670 Thought to have been swallowed 655 00:29:55,795 --> 00:29:58,840 by the legendary Bermuda Triangle. 656 00:29:59,007 --> 00:30:00,759 ‐ We found a record of a vessel called the Sandra 657 00:30:00,884 --> 00:30:02,552 that was lost in 1950. 658 00:30:02,719 --> 00:30:04,804 And it was carrying a cargo of DDT. 659 00:30:04,888 --> 00:30:07,849 ♪ ♪ 660 00:30:07,932 --> 00:30:10,101 And when we actually analyzed the cargo, 661 00:30:10,226 --> 00:30:12,145 we found out it was kaolin clay, 662 00:30:12,270 --> 00:30:14,439 which is used as an insecticide or pesticide, 663 00:30:14,564 --> 00:30:18,193 as well as traces of DDT. 664 00:30:18,318 --> 00:30:20,028 We know the Sandra left Savannah, Georgia, 665 00:30:20,153 --> 00:30:21,988 headed south along the North Florida coast. 666 00:30:22,113 --> 00:30:23,698 It would have passed right over where we were diving, 667 00:30:23,823 --> 00:30:25,492 where this mystery wreck is. 668 00:30:25,575 --> 00:30:27,452 And all the dimensions, 669 00:30:27,577 --> 00:30:30,789 all the machinery matched exactly what the Sandra was. 670 00:30:30,914 --> 00:30:33,583 We put all this evidence altogether, 671 00:30:33,708 --> 00:30:35,502 cumulatively, it was overwhelming 672 00:30:35,585 --> 00:30:39,923 that the mystery wreck was indeed the Sandra. 673 00:30:40,048 --> 00:30:42,467 Fishburne: For the Bermuda Triangle investigation team, 674 00:30:42,550 --> 00:30:45,345 it's a major discovery. 675 00:30:45,512 --> 00:30:50,350 A 200‐foot ship thought to be vanished forever is now found. 676 00:30:50,517 --> 00:30:52,477 ♪ ♪ 677 00:30:52,602 --> 00:30:56,564 But what, or who, buried the Sandra and her 12 sailors 678 00:30:56,689 --> 00:31:00,402 in this watery grave? 679 00:31:00,527 --> 00:31:03,696 Is there some unknown force behind this 680 00:31:03,822 --> 00:31:08,076 and so many Bermuda Triangle mysteries? 681 00:31:08,201 --> 00:31:10,412 With the sensational discovery, 682 00:31:10,537 --> 00:31:14,040 these questions can now be investigated. 683 00:31:14,207 --> 00:31:15,959 ‐ I mean, just serendipity, right? 684 00:31:16,084 --> 00:31:17,794 You know, we're trying to find information 685 00:31:17,919 --> 00:31:19,003 on another Bermuda Triangle mystery, 686 00:31:19,170 --> 00:31:20,797 and yet we stumble into another one, 687 00:31:20,922 --> 00:31:22,048 which just shows you that's what happens 688 00:31:22,215 --> 00:31:23,842 when you go out exploring out here. 689 00:31:24,008 --> 00:31:27,470 You just never know what you're going to run into. 690 00:31:27,554 --> 00:31:30,640 Fishburne: But the mystery of the Sandra must wait. 691 00:31:30,723 --> 00:31:33,893 Barnette is eager to return to his primary mission: 692 00:31:34,018 --> 00:31:36,855 finding the missing planes. 693 00:31:36,980 --> 00:31:39,065 ♪ ♪ 694 00:31:39,190 --> 00:31:41,693 Forced into port by severe weather, 695 00:31:41,818 --> 00:31:45,363 Petrel is heading back to sea. 696 00:31:45,530 --> 00:31:47,699 Barnette joins team member Rob Kraft 697 00:31:47,824 --> 00:31:50,869 for the next leg of the expedition. 698 00:31:50,994 --> 00:31:52,287 ‐ Yeah, I really appreciate the opportunity. 699 00:31:52,412 --> 00:31:54,706 ‐ Mike Barnett is a NOAA marine biologist 700 00:31:54,831 --> 00:31:56,124 and an avid diver. 701 00:31:56,249 --> 00:31:57,208 We're going to bring him onboard 702 00:31:57,375 --> 00:31:58,960 and we're going to talk to him 703 00:31:59,043 --> 00:32:01,421 about the PBM Mariner aspect of Flight 19. 704 00:32:01,546 --> 00:32:03,506 Fishburne: Barnette is most interested 705 00:32:03,673 --> 00:32:08,219 in a lesser known aspect of the Flight 19 saga: 706 00:32:08,386 --> 00:32:11,431 the loss of the Martin Mariner search and rescue plane. 707 00:32:11,556 --> 00:32:15,602 ‐ In the process of trying to rescue these five aircraft, 708 00:32:15,727 --> 00:32:16,686 another search and rescue aircraft 709 00:32:16,811 --> 00:32:19,105 was dispatched to go find them, 710 00:32:19,230 --> 00:32:23,526 and it disappeared less than a half‐hour after taking off. 711 00:32:23,651 --> 00:32:25,278 So in an instant, 712 00:32:25,403 --> 00:32:28,698 we've doubled the men that need to be rescued. 713 00:32:28,823 --> 00:32:30,658 Fishburne: 7:30 p. m. 714 00:32:30,742 --> 00:32:33,703 About an hour since the last transmission from Flight 19. 715 00:32:33,828 --> 00:32:36,039 ♪ ♪ 716 00:32:36,122 --> 00:32:39,083 A 13‐man rescue team goes after the lost flight 717 00:32:39,250 --> 00:32:41,711 like firemen running into a burning building. 718 00:32:41,836 --> 00:32:43,713 ‐ 2‐0‐0 departure radar contact. 719 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:45,465 Fishburne: Around 8:30 p. m., 720 00:32:45,548 --> 00:32:49,344 the rescue plane suddenly drops off radar. 721 00:32:49,511 --> 00:32:51,971 ♪ ♪ 722 00:32:52,055 --> 00:32:53,681 A passing freighter, 723 00:32:53,848 --> 00:32:55,683 the S. S. Gaines Mill 724 00:32:55,767 --> 00:33:01,272 reported a large fireball in the skies around that time. 725 00:33:01,397 --> 00:33:05,693 Did the plane explode mid‐flight? 726 00:33:05,860 --> 00:33:08,446 No wreckage was ever found, 727 00:33:08,571 --> 00:33:10,573 and the true location of the incident 728 00:33:10,698 --> 00:33:12,992 is hotly debated. 729 00:33:13,076 --> 00:33:14,911 ‐ This is a site identified in 1989 730 00:33:15,078 --> 00:33:17,080 during the search for Challenger debris. 731 00:33:17,247 --> 00:33:18,873 Fishburne: Barnette thinks he may have found 732 00:33:18,998 --> 00:33:20,833 the missing Mariner 733 00:33:20,917 --> 00:33:22,293 by digging through the archives 734 00:33:22,418 --> 00:33:24,796 of a seemingly unrelated event. 735 00:33:24,879 --> 00:33:26,714 ♪ ♪ 736 00:33:26,881 --> 00:33:30,677 The 1986 explosion of the Challenger space shuttle. 737 00:33:30,802 --> 00:33:34,639 ♪ ♪ 738 00:33:34,764 --> 00:33:36,683 ‐ Tragically, it exploded a few minutes after launch 739 00:33:36,766 --> 00:33:39,310 and crashed in the Atlantic Ocean in several pieces. 740 00:33:39,435 --> 00:33:40,853 And there was a major effort to go out 741 00:33:41,020 --> 00:33:42,522 and search for this debris. 742 00:33:42,605 --> 00:33:44,190 And they actually found 743 00:33:44,357 --> 00:33:46,776 what they identified as a DC‐3, 744 00:33:46,901 --> 00:33:50,238 which is a twin‐engine aircraft, in this area here. 745 00:33:50,405 --> 00:33:53,408 Fishburne: Searching for the debris of the Challenger, 746 00:33:53,533 --> 00:33:58,538 NASA identified the wreck of a DC‐3 aircraft. 747 00:33:58,621 --> 00:34:03,042 But the dive report states visibility was poor. 748 00:34:03,209 --> 00:34:05,962 So did they get it right? 749 00:34:06,087 --> 00:34:09,299 Could this actually be the missing Mariner? 750 00:34:09,424 --> 00:34:11,301 ‐ How far offshore is this? 751 00:34:11,384 --> 00:34:14,887 ‐ This is about 30 miles. ‐ Okay. 752 00:34:15,054 --> 00:34:16,806 Let's get on the phone and call the bridge, 753 00:34:16,889 --> 00:34:18,516 and give them that position. 754 00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:20,685 Fishburne: Rob Kraft adjusts course 755 00:34:20,852 --> 00:34:24,480 to head towards Mike Barnette's provocative target. 756 00:34:28,484 --> 00:34:31,362 Fishburne: It's early March 2020. 757 00:34:31,529 --> 00:34:33,197 Rob Kraft and Mike Barnette 758 00:34:33,281 --> 00:34:35,617 have taken RV Petrel over the very spot 759 00:34:35,742 --> 00:34:39,370 where NASA records document a mysterious aircraft wreck. 760 00:34:39,495 --> 00:34:41,205 ♪ ♪ 761 00:34:41,289 --> 00:34:45,001 ‐ Next one, you'll be 133 meters. 762 00:34:45,084 --> 00:34:48,004 Fishburne: They suspect that it may be 763 00:34:48,129 --> 00:34:49,589 the PBM Mariner rescue plane 764 00:34:49,714 --> 00:34:52,550 that was lost along with Flight 19. 765 00:34:52,717 --> 00:34:54,427 ‐ We know the PBM was likely traveling 766 00:34:54,552 --> 00:34:56,763 at an altitude of 800 feet or so. 767 00:34:56,888 --> 00:35:00,058 So if it did crash, we should have large chunks of wreckage. 768 00:35:00,183 --> 00:35:02,477 Fishburne: Using the Petrel's sonar, 769 00:35:02,602 --> 00:35:05,480 they search the ocean floor for half a mile 770 00:35:05,605 --> 00:35:09,692 in every direction and turn up... 771 00:35:09,817 --> 00:35:11,235 nothing. 772 00:35:11,361 --> 00:35:15,156 ‐ Yeah, there's‐‐ there's nothing there. 773 00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:18,242 Fishburne: Is the NASA data inaccurate? 774 00:35:18,368 --> 00:35:22,789 Or did churning undersea currents destroy the wreck? 775 00:35:22,914 --> 00:35:27,627 Whatever the explanation, there's no plane here. 776 00:35:27,752 --> 00:35:31,339 But for Kraft, this is still progress. 777 00:35:31,506 --> 00:35:33,966 ‐ When you rule targets out that can help you 778 00:35:34,050 --> 00:35:35,760 focus your search. 779 00:35:35,885 --> 00:35:38,554 X rarely ever marks the spot. 780 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:40,640 ♪ ♪ 781 00:35:40,765 --> 00:35:42,183 Fishburne: As Kraft steers Petrel 782 00:35:42,266 --> 00:35:44,143 back toward deeper water, 783 00:35:44,227 --> 00:35:47,522 Barnette prepares another dive expedition along the coast. 784 00:35:47,605 --> 00:35:49,524 ♪ ♪ 785 00:35:49,607 --> 00:35:54,112 Meanwhile, back in Florida, the other members of the team‐‐ 786 00:35:54,237 --> 00:35:57,532 Investigators Wayne Abbott and David O'Keefe‐‐ 787 00:35:57,615 --> 00:36:00,827 Have uncovered a provocative witness. 788 00:36:00,952 --> 00:36:03,496 ‐ This is the first interview she's ever given. 789 00:36:03,621 --> 00:36:05,164 ‐ Yeah. I mean, 75 years later, 790 00:36:05,289 --> 00:36:06,874 it's going to be hard to find any eyewitnesses. 791 00:36:06,958 --> 00:36:09,127 And so she's about the closest thing we're going to get. 792 00:36:09,210 --> 00:36:12,046 ♪ ♪ 793 00:36:12,213 --> 00:36:15,675 ‐ My father was Lieutenant Robert Cox. 794 00:36:15,758 --> 00:36:20,430 He was in radio contact with Flight 19. 795 00:36:20,555 --> 00:36:21,848 Fishburne: Colby Cox is the daughter 796 00:36:21,973 --> 00:36:24,350 of Lieutenant Robert Cox, 797 00:36:24,475 --> 00:36:27,061 the first to realize Flight 19 was in trouble 798 00:36:27,186 --> 00:36:30,064 on that fateful day. 799 00:36:30,189 --> 00:36:32,525 ‐ Powers, you copy? 800 00:36:32,608 --> 00:36:35,862 I don't know where we are. 801 00:36:35,945 --> 00:36:37,864 Fishburne: Cox was also the only person 802 00:36:38,030 --> 00:36:41,826 to have more than a fleeting contact with Flight 19. 803 00:36:41,909 --> 00:36:45,204 ‐ Please identify yourself so someone can help. 804 00:36:45,288 --> 00:36:47,373 ♪ ♪ 805 00:36:47,498 --> 00:36:50,293 Fishburne: Cox was sure he could find them. 806 00:36:50,418 --> 00:36:53,254 But he was low on fuel. 807 00:36:53,379 --> 00:36:55,214 He requested to land and swap into a ready plane 808 00:36:55,339 --> 00:36:57,008 that was on standby. 809 00:36:57,133 --> 00:37:01,345 ‐ This FT‐74 coming in low on fuel. 810 00:37:01,471 --> 00:37:02,680 Request permission to immediately disembark 811 00:37:02,805 --> 00:37:04,682 in ready plane. 812 00:37:04,807 --> 00:37:07,852 I think I got a pretty good fix on those lost fliers. 813 00:37:07,977 --> 00:37:11,814 Fishburne: But his request was inexplicably denied. 814 00:37:11,939 --> 00:37:13,983 ♪ ♪ 815 00:37:14,066 --> 00:37:15,735 Why wasn't Lieutenant Cox 816 00:37:15,860 --> 00:37:19,947 allowed to go back up after Flight 19? 817 00:37:20,072 --> 00:37:23,075 ‐ It's very sad that Dad wasn't allowed to go back up. 818 00:37:23,201 --> 00:37:24,702 ‐ Did it weigh heavily on him? 819 00:37:24,827 --> 00:37:28,289 ‐ My dad felt extremely strongly 820 00:37:28,414 --> 00:37:31,209 that he could locate the flight 821 00:37:31,334 --> 00:37:33,336 if he were allowed to go back up. 822 00:37:33,419 --> 00:37:36,547 And he was very frustrated 823 00:37:36,714 --> 00:37:40,510 that he wasn't allowed to go back up. 824 00:37:40,635 --> 00:37:42,512 ‐ What was the fallout for your father then? 825 00:37:42,595 --> 00:37:45,431 ‐ My mother was always convinced 826 00:37:45,556 --> 00:37:50,269 that this adversely affected my father's career, 827 00:37:50,394 --> 00:37:53,940 because my father told the truth. 828 00:37:54,065 --> 00:37:56,651 ‐ Robert Cox is one of the most crucial characters 829 00:37:56,734 --> 00:37:59,278 in the whole Flight 19 story. 830 00:37:59,403 --> 00:38:01,489 Now, Robert died a few years ago, 831 00:38:01,572 --> 00:38:04,367 and his story died with him. 832 00:38:04,534 --> 00:38:10,248 But Colby Cox told us a story that is shocking. 833 00:38:10,414 --> 00:38:13,918 ‐ There was a huge party on the base that night. 834 00:38:14,001 --> 00:38:16,629 From what I recall Dad saying, 835 00:38:16,754 --> 00:38:21,133 they couldn't even find the base commander. 836 00:38:21,217 --> 00:38:23,094 My father believed 837 00:38:23,219 --> 00:38:26,389 that the fact that there was that big party the night before 838 00:38:26,556 --> 00:38:30,184 definitely contributed to the loss of Flight 19. 839 00:38:30,309 --> 00:38:32,186 ♪ ♪ 840 00:38:32,311 --> 00:38:34,355 Fishburne: If Lieutenant Cox did testify 841 00:38:34,438 --> 00:38:37,108 to this base‐wide party 842 00:38:37,233 --> 00:38:39,527 the night before Flight 19 was lost, 843 00:38:39,652 --> 00:38:43,531 it's nowhere in the Navy's official report. 844 00:38:43,698 --> 00:38:45,074 ‐ Did your father believe that they whitewashed, 845 00:38:45,241 --> 00:38:46,367 say, the Board of Inquiry? 846 00:38:46,450 --> 00:38:48,661 ‐ Yes. ‐ Wow. 847 00:38:48,744 --> 00:38:51,080 ‐ The Navy doesn't want to hear that. 848 00:38:51,205 --> 00:38:55,167 I grew up as a Navy brat. 849 00:38:55,293 --> 00:38:58,379 My father was in the service 24 years. 850 00:38:58,546 --> 00:39:01,799 And knowing what I know about the Navy, 851 00:39:01,883 --> 00:39:05,011 of course they're going to whitewash it. 852 00:39:05,136 --> 00:39:07,680 ♪ ♪ 853 00:39:07,805 --> 00:39:10,558 ‐ Boy, did she just open up something. 854 00:39:10,683 --> 00:39:13,895 ‐ Do think that they would have sanitized the Board of Inquiry? 855 00:39:14,020 --> 00:39:16,272 ‐ Well, they could have. I mean, let's just say 856 00:39:16,397 --> 00:39:17,940 the entire base was off its game. 857 00:39:18,065 --> 00:39:19,734 They were all hungover. 858 00:39:19,859 --> 00:39:22,403 Would the Navy really want that to come out? 859 00:39:22,570 --> 00:39:24,572 ‐ Especially with the loss of 27 men. 860 00:39:24,697 --> 00:39:28,034 ‐ Particularly with the loss of 27 men. 861 00:39:28,117 --> 00:39:29,869 ♪ ♪ 862 00:39:29,994 --> 00:39:32,330 ‐ The amount of partying that was happening 863 00:39:32,413 --> 00:39:34,916 is a bit surprising, shocking. 864 00:39:35,041 --> 00:39:38,711 But also understandable. 865 00:39:38,836 --> 00:39:41,380 My God, these guys just got home from fighting World War II. 866 00:39:41,505 --> 00:39:43,299 male announcer: It's official. It's all over. 867 00:39:43,382 --> 00:39:45,343 It's total victory. 868 00:39:45,509 --> 00:39:46,844 [crowd cheering] 869 00:39:47,011 --> 00:39:48,512 Fishburne: The guns of World War II 870 00:39:48,638 --> 00:39:51,515 fell silent in August 1945, 871 00:39:51,641 --> 00:39:53,517 after the final Japanese surrender. 872 00:39:53,643 --> 00:39:56,020 announcer: Cameramen and reporters of many countries 873 00:39:56,187 --> 00:39:57,772 record this historic moment. 874 00:39:57,897 --> 00:39:59,482 Fishburne: Servicemen from all branches 875 00:39:59,607 --> 00:40:01,734 went from high alert to suddenly, 876 00:40:01,859 --> 00:40:04,153 unexpectedly, coming home. 877 00:40:04,236 --> 00:40:09,533 ‐ The American military did not look to the year 1945 and go, 878 00:40:09,700 --> 00:40:12,286 "'We'll wrap it all up then and then we'll all go home." 879 00:40:12,411 --> 00:40:14,121 That was not the plan. 880 00:40:14,246 --> 00:40:17,041 The American military had imagined a force 881 00:40:17,166 --> 00:40:20,753 of 305,000 American troops 882 00:40:20,878 --> 00:40:22,296 participating in amphibious landing 883 00:40:22,380 --> 00:40:26,384 on the Japanese home islands. 884 00:40:26,509 --> 00:40:29,011 I don't want to say that they suddenly became unprofessional, 885 00:40:29,095 --> 00:40:33,641 and that they neglected their duties and responsibilities. 886 00:40:33,724 --> 00:40:35,851 But I am saying that there's a different set of priorities 887 00:40:36,018 --> 00:40:39,271 by December 5th 1945. 888 00:40:39,397 --> 00:40:40,815 Fishburne: Even if there was 889 00:40:40,898 --> 00:40:43,567 a massive base party the night before, 890 00:40:43,734 --> 00:40:47,655 the men of Flight 19 were experienced aviators. 891 00:40:47,738 --> 00:40:51,534 Most had seen combat in the Pacific. 892 00:40:51,617 --> 00:40:55,079 None more than flight instructor Charles Taylor. 893 00:40:55,246 --> 00:40:56,956 ‐ His friends called him CC. 894 00:40:57,081 --> 00:40:59,166 And he was from Texas, from Corpus Christi. 895 00:40:59,250 --> 00:41:03,421 And he joined the Navy in 1941. 896 00:41:03,546 --> 00:41:06,090 He was a highly seasoned pilot. 897 00:41:06,215 --> 00:41:07,925 [machine‐gun fire] 898 00:41:08,050 --> 00:41:10,219 He had combat experience, but he had also logged 899 00:41:10,386 --> 00:41:12,555 2,500 hours of flying time, 900 00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:15,307 mostly on the Avenger. 901 00:41:15,391 --> 00:41:17,685 He ditched twice while in combat. 902 00:41:17,810 --> 00:41:19,854 If there was anybody on Flight 19 903 00:41:19,979 --> 00:41:22,523 who understood what it was like to land in the ocean, 904 00:41:22,648 --> 00:41:25,276 deploy the rafts and survive, 905 00:41:25,401 --> 00:41:28,696 it seems to have been Charles Taylor. 906 00:41:28,863 --> 00:41:33,242 So he was nowhere near in over his head. 907 00:41:33,367 --> 00:41:34,493 There must have been something 908 00:41:34,577 --> 00:41:37,621 that really threw him off that day. 909 00:41:37,747 --> 00:41:39,206 Fishburne: Could Flight 19 910 00:41:39,331 --> 00:41:41,542 have run into something in the Bermuda Triangle 911 00:41:41,667 --> 00:41:43,127 that surprised them? 912 00:41:43,210 --> 00:41:46,088 ‐ In aviation, when we look at accidents, 913 00:41:46,213 --> 00:41:47,673 when we look at reports, 914 00:41:47,798 --> 00:41:51,927 we look at things as a compound series of events. 915 00:41:52,053 --> 00:41:55,765 An accident doesn't just happen with one thing. 916 00:41:55,890 --> 00:41:57,850 Fishburne: Wayne and David have come 917 00:41:58,017 --> 00:42:00,519 to the Florida Aviation Academy. 918 00:42:00,644 --> 00:42:01,687 They're meeting U. S. Air Force pilot 919 00:42:01,812 --> 00:42:04,482 and accident investigator, 920 00:42:04,607 --> 00:42:06,525 Lieutenant Colonel Jason Harris. 921 00:42:06,609 --> 00:42:08,402 ‐ We need to be able to gain experience from somebody 922 00:42:08,569 --> 00:42:10,821 who's been in the cockpit. 923 00:42:10,946 --> 00:42:13,491 Somebody who's been in situations like this before. 924 00:42:13,574 --> 00:42:15,367 Fishburne: Jason has a way to give David 925 00:42:15,493 --> 00:42:18,329 a pilot's‐eye view of Flight 19. 926 00:42:18,412 --> 00:42:19,872 ‐ Whoa! Dave, jeez. ‐ There we go. 927 00:42:20,039 --> 00:42:21,916 ‐ I didn't realize you weighed that much. 928 00:42:22,041 --> 00:42:24,835 Fishburne: They're lifting off in a flight simulator, 929 00:42:24,919 --> 00:42:28,506 programmed for December 5th, 1945. 930 00:42:28,631 --> 00:42:30,341 ‐ Are you ready? ‐ Let's go. 931 00:42:30,424 --> 00:42:33,886 ♪ ♪ 932 00:42:34,011 --> 00:42:35,846 ‐ So we'll go ahead and just start climbing on up. 933 00:42:36,013 --> 00:42:38,724 ‐ Perfect. 934 00:42:38,891 --> 00:42:40,976 ‐ We know that the weather report 935 00:42:41,060 --> 00:42:44,939 here in Fort Lauderdale on that day was CAVU: 936 00:42:45,064 --> 00:42:49,819 "Clear skies, visibility unrestricted." 937 00:42:49,902 --> 00:42:51,737 Fishburne: But the naval report shows that offshore, 938 00:42:51,862 --> 00:42:54,281 conditions quickly deteriorated. 939 00:42:54,406 --> 00:42:57,993 ‐ And that is almost standard in this part of the country 940 00:42:58,119 --> 00:43:00,579 that there might be clear weather here on the landmass, 941 00:43:00,746 --> 00:43:02,206 but the flight conditions 942 00:43:02,331 --> 00:43:04,208 over the entire route of the flight were not. 943 00:43:04,291 --> 00:43:06,502 ♪ ♪ 944 00:43:06,585 --> 00:43:08,671 Fishburne: In a time before GPS, 945 00:43:08,754 --> 00:43:10,965 and with limited aerial radar, 946 00:43:11,048 --> 00:43:12,508 pilots relied on visual landmarks 947 00:43:12,633 --> 00:43:16,220 to correct for course drift. 948 00:43:16,387 --> 00:43:19,723 Flight 19's first landmark was a small island, 949 00:43:19,849 --> 00:43:22,226 called Chicken Shoals. 950 00:43:22,351 --> 00:43:24,186 With poor visibility, 951 00:43:24,270 --> 00:43:29,316 Jason thinks Flight 19 was unable to find Chicken Shoals. 952 00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:31,819 ‐ Wow. When it comes in at first, 953 00:43:31,902 --> 00:43:33,696 you don't realize how quick 954 00:43:33,779 --> 00:43:35,322 you can lose your visibility and your reference points. 955 00:43:35,447 --> 00:43:37,074 ‐ Absolutely. 956 00:43:37,199 --> 00:43:39,910 Fishburne: Unable to find the small island, 957 00:43:40,077 --> 00:43:43,789 Taylor would have turned to his compasses to stay on course. 958 00:43:43,914 --> 00:43:47,626 The Avenger had two. 959 00:43:47,751 --> 00:43:49,128 But turbulence and poor weather 960 00:43:49,211 --> 00:43:52,047 could lead both to read incorrectly. 961 00:43:52,173 --> 00:43:57,303 ♪ ♪ 962 00:43:57,386 --> 00:43:59,388 Even in a simulator, 963 00:43:59,513 --> 00:44:03,058 the feeling of being lost leads to a pilot's worst enemy: 964 00:44:03,184 --> 00:44:05,269 panic. 965 00:44:05,394 --> 00:44:07,313 ‐ This is it, this is serious. We're lost. 966 00:44:07,438 --> 00:44:10,691 ‐ And we have no idea where Chicken Shoals is, 967 00:44:10,816 --> 00:44:12,818 what our intended target is. 968 00:44:12,902 --> 00:44:14,653 ‐ This is not a good feeling. ‐ It's not. 969 00:44:14,737 --> 00:44:19,116 ♪ ♪ 970 00:44:19,241 --> 00:44:22,036 When you look at the transcripts on Flight 19, 971 00:44:22,119 --> 00:44:26,957 you begin to realize that Taylor, the flight instructor, 972 00:44:27,082 --> 00:44:30,669 was clearly panicked because he was lost. 973 00:44:30,836 --> 00:44:32,004 You're running out of fuel. 974 00:44:32,129 --> 00:44:33,297 It's in the middle of the night. 975 00:44:33,422 --> 00:44:34,632 You've got rain, potentially. 976 00:44:34,715 --> 00:44:36,133 You've got cloud cover. 977 00:44:36,217 --> 00:44:37,968 You've got turbulence. You've got winds. 978 00:44:38,052 --> 00:44:41,513 You've got instruments that you no longer can trust. 979 00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:44,016 I'd be panicked. 980 00:44:44,183 --> 00:44:46,393 I don't care how much experience I have 981 00:44:46,518 --> 00:44:48,020 as a professional pilot. 982 00:44:48,187 --> 00:44:51,190 Those are a recipe for disaster. 983 00:44:51,273 --> 00:44:52,900 Fishburne: From the simulator, 984 00:44:53,025 --> 00:44:56,237 Jason reconstructs one possible scenario. 985 00:44:56,362 --> 00:44:58,030 ♪ ♪ 986 00:44:58,197 --> 00:45:01,200 Unforecasted bad weather closes in, 987 00:45:01,283 --> 00:45:03,661 reducing visibility and causing Flight 19 988 00:45:03,744 --> 00:45:07,539 to drift from their planned route. 989 00:45:07,665 --> 00:45:09,708 As panic sets in, 990 00:45:09,792 --> 00:45:13,003 Charles Taylor distrusts his compasses 991 00:45:13,087 --> 00:45:17,299 and leads the squadron further out to sea toward certain doom. 992 00:45:17,383 --> 00:45:19,385 ♪ ♪ 993 00:45:19,510 --> 00:45:21,095 ‐ So there's the possibility 994 00:45:21,220 --> 00:45:22,972 that there was a lot of weather that day, 995 00:45:23,055 --> 00:45:25,140 there was a lot of stress. 996 00:45:25,224 --> 00:45:28,519 What I think happened is that these guys got lost. 997 00:45:28,644 --> 00:45:30,854 Fishburne: If Jason's right, 998 00:45:31,021 --> 00:45:34,483 that means Flight 19 is most likely deep out to sea. 999 00:45:34,566 --> 00:45:35,943 ♪ ♪ 1000 00:45:36,068 --> 00:45:39,530 But now, on land, 1001 00:45:39,697 --> 00:45:41,699 Wayne and David have uncovered a clue 1002 00:45:41,865 --> 00:45:44,201 that could flip the whole case on its head. 1003 00:45:44,326 --> 00:45:46,036 ‐ "You have been misinformed about me. 1004 00:45:46,120 --> 00:45:49,832 I'm very much alive, Georgie." 1005 00:45:49,915 --> 00:45:53,127 Fishburne: Was there a survivor from Flight 19? 1006 00:45:57,756 --> 00:46:00,092 Flight 19, It's the most legendary 1007 00:46:00,217 --> 00:46:03,804 Bermuda Triangle disappearance on record. 1008 00:46:03,887 --> 00:46:06,890 David O'Keefe and Wayne Abbott are part of a team 1009 00:46:07,057 --> 00:46:09,351 trying to finally solve this mystery. 1010 00:46:09,435 --> 00:46:12,896 They're now hunting for clues in the stories of the men 1011 00:46:13,022 --> 00:46:16,442 who disappeared that night. 1012 00:46:16,567 --> 00:46:18,944 ‐ This is about 14 men 1013 00:46:19,069 --> 00:46:20,738 that took off that day and never came home. 1014 00:46:20,863 --> 00:46:23,282 Fourteen families that had to deal with that. 1015 00:46:23,407 --> 00:46:25,868 Not to mention the other 13 men lost on the Martin Mariner 1016 00:46:25,993 --> 00:46:27,703 that went out to rescue them. 1017 00:46:27,828 --> 00:46:31,540 Twenty‐seven men died in one night. 1018 00:46:31,665 --> 00:46:33,167 That's the real story. 1019 00:46:33,250 --> 00:46:34,877 Fishburne: The trail's led them 1020 00:46:34,960 --> 00:46:37,963 to the suburbs of New York City. 1021 00:46:38,047 --> 00:46:39,840 ‐ For years I've been hoping that we could speak to somebody 1022 00:46:39,923 --> 00:46:42,092 from the Paonessa family. 1023 00:46:42,217 --> 00:46:43,761 ‐ Yeah, they've got that one piece of cryptic evidence 1024 00:46:43,886 --> 00:46:47,348 we have to take a look at. 1025 00:46:47,431 --> 00:46:50,684 Fishburne: Wayne and David are meeting Bill Paonessa. 1026 00:46:50,809 --> 00:46:51,894 ‐ Hi, how are you? ‐ Good. 1027 00:46:52,019 --> 00:46:53,312 ‐ Dave O'Keefe. ‐ Bill Paonessa. 1028 00:46:53,395 --> 00:46:55,064 ‐ Nice to meet you. ‐ Hey. Wayne Abbott. 1029 00:46:55,189 --> 00:46:56,106 Fishburne: Bill's uncle was Flight 19 1030 00:46:56,231 --> 00:46:58,817 radioman George Paonessa. 1031 00:46:58,901 --> 00:47:00,611 ‐ I've got something to show you 1032 00:47:00,736 --> 00:47:03,197 that's going to be piquing your interest. 1033 00:47:03,280 --> 00:47:05,741 Fishburne: Today, Bill is the keeper of a family secret. 1034 00:47:05,908 --> 00:47:07,368 ‐ Is this all related to George? 1035 00:47:07,451 --> 00:47:09,828 ‐ All related to George that my Aunt Lou, 1036 00:47:09,953 --> 00:47:12,831 who was the matriarch, took very good care of. 1037 00:47:12,956 --> 00:47:14,375 And communication. 1038 00:47:14,458 --> 00:47:17,544 I also have some of his effects from Florida 1039 00:47:17,669 --> 00:47:18,712 where he disappeared. 1040 00:47:18,879 --> 00:47:20,547 And, also, from the Pacific. 1041 00:47:20,714 --> 00:47:22,841 Even the stencil from his locker. 1042 00:47:22,925 --> 00:47:26,428 ‐ No way! 1043 00:47:26,553 --> 00:47:28,013 ‐ George was my dad's brother. 1044 00:47:28,138 --> 00:47:30,766 And George was the youngest of the brothers. 1045 00:47:30,891 --> 00:47:32,267 My dad was in the Army. 1046 00:47:32,393 --> 00:47:34,186 George was Marines, 1047 00:47:34,269 --> 00:47:36,730 flight aviator, gunner bombardier. 1048 00:47:36,855 --> 00:47:38,774 ♪ ♪ 1049 00:47:38,899 --> 00:47:41,485 The disappearance in Bermuda Triangle 1050 00:47:41,610 --> 00:47:43,987 always hung over the family. 1051 00:47:44,113 --> 00:47:46,865 And it's something that we have always, 1052 00:47:47,032 --> 00:47:50,619 you know, wanted an answer. 1053 00:47:50,744 --> 00:47:51,912 And his flight book. 1054 00:47:52,079 --> 00:47:54,456 This was from the Pacific. 1055 00:47:54,581 --> 00:47:55,874 ‐ He was on patrols. 1056 00:47:55,999 --> 00:47:58,127 He was on convoy duty, dive‐bombing. 1057 00:47:58,210 --> 00:48:00,212 They were attacking Japanese‐held islands, 1058 00:48:00,337 --> 00:48:01,630 strafing. 1059 00:48:01,755 --> 00:48:03,006 I mean, he saw some heavy combat. 1060 00:48:03,132 --> 00:48:05,217 ‐ What has the family said 1061 00:48:05,384 --> 00:48:08,512 about the night of December 5th to you? 1062 00:48:08,679 --> 00:48:11,223 ‐ Well, they really thought there was a miscommunication. 1063 00:48:11,348 --> 00:48:13,851 How could men who were experienced, 1064 00:48:13,934 --> 00:48:17,146 seasoned pilots get lost? 1065 00:48:17,229 --> 00:48:19,189 ♪ ♪ 1066 00:48:19,314 --> 00:48:21,775 ‐ Whatever happened, they wanted an explanation, 1067 00:48:21,900 --> 00:48:23,527 ironclad, that tells them 1068 00:48:23,652 --> 00:48:25,946 why this happened to a group of servicemen 1069 00:48:26,071 --> 00:48:28,157 that went through the Pacific Theater 1070 00:48:28,282 --> 00:48:31,952 and came back to die in the Atlantic Ocean. 1071 00:48:32,077 --> 00:48:33,954 Fishburne: In December 1945, 1072 00:48:34,079 --> 00:48:36,373 as families around America prepared 1073 00:48:36,498 --> 00:48:38,041 for their first Christmas together again 1074 00:48:38,208 --> 00:48:40,002 after years of war, 1075 00:48:40,127 --> 00:48:44,131 the Paonessas received a series of telegrams. 1076 00:48:44,214 --> 00:48:46,341 "Your son is missing." 1077 00:48:46,508 --> 00:48:49,678 "The search has been discontinued." 1078 00:48:49,761 --> 00:48:52,514 "Your was son killed." 1079 00:48:52,598 --> 00:48:54,349 ♪ ♪ 1080 00:48:54,475 --> 00:48:57,144 And then, the day after Christmas, 1081 00:48:57,227 --> 00:49:01,648 they received a telegram that appeared to be from George. 1082 00:49:01,773 --> 00:49:04,067 ♪ ♪ 1083 00:49:04,234 --> 00:49:06,945 ‐ The one telegram that threw everybody for a loop 1084 00:49:07,070 --> 00:49:09,740 was on December 26th, 1085 00:49:09,865 --> 00:49:14,077 my Uncle Joe received this telegram. 1086 00:49:14,203 --> 00:49:17,748 So this is a bit strange. 1087 00:49:17,915 --> 00:49:19,750 ‐ "You have been misinformed about me. 1088 00:49:19,917 --> 00:49:22,836 I'm very much alive, Georgie." 1089 00:49:23,003 --> 00:49:26,006 ‐ And he spelled it G‐E‐O‐R‐G‐I‐E. 1090 00:49:26,089 --> 00:49:28,509 That was his signature. 1091 00:49:28,634 --> 00:49:31,595 ♪ ♪ 1092 00:49:31,720 --> 00:49:35,432 The telegram was allegedly sent by my uncle, 1093 00:49:35,557 --> 00:49:38,602 and he signed it G‐E‐O‐R‐G‐I‐E. 1094 00:49:38,727 --> 00:49:41,522 He was the only person that signed his name like that. 1095 00:49:41,688 --> 00:49:43,524 So it was like, wait a minute, 1096 00:49:43,607 --> 00:49:46,193 we got a letter from the government saying 1097 00:49:46,276 --> 00:49:48,320 he's lost at sea, presumed dead, 1098 00:49:48,445 --> 00:49:50,030 And we've given up on the search 1099 00:49:50,113 --> 00:49:52,950 'cause it's been over 10 days. 1100 00:49:53,075 --> 00:49:56,662 And yet we get a telegram from Georgie, alleged, 1101 00:49:56,745 --> 00:49:58,205 that he's fine. 1102 00:49:58,330 --> 00:50:01,667 Which one do you want to believe? 1103 00:50:01,792 --> 00:50:05,295 ‐ This mystery telegram leads to so many questions, 1104 00:50:05,379 --> 00:50:07,673 with the strangest question being: 1105 00:50:07,839 --> 00:50:10,509 did George survive? 1106 00:50:10,676 --> 00:50:14,596 ♪ ♪ 1107 00:50:14,721 --> 00:50:15,889 Fishburne: George Paonessa was 1108 00:50:16,056 --> 00:50:20,018 Captain Ed Powers' radioman. 1109 00:50:20,185 --> 00:50:22,062 Some speculate Powers realized 1110 00:50:22,187 --> 00:50:24,189 flight instructor Charles Taylor 1111 00:50:24,273 --> 00:50:29,111 was heading the wrong way, and turned west toward land... 1112 00:50:29,236 --> 00:50:33,240 ultimately crashing somewhere over Florida. 1113 00:50:33,407 --> 00:50:36,702 If so, could Paonessa have survived? 1114 00:50:36,868 --> 00:50:38,870 ♪ ♪ 1115 00:50:38,954 --> 00:50:40,872 ‐ Was there discussion in the family? 1116 00:50:41,039 --> 00:50:43,875 Like, who would have done this as a hoax? 1117 00:50:44,001 --> 00:50:46,211 ‐ No, no, no. This came from Florida. 1118 00:50:46,378 --> 00:50:50,674 It came from the Western Union, in Florida near the base. 1119 00:50:50,841 --> 00:50:55,846 So this all had credence of it's original, it's authentic. 1120 00:50:56,013 --> 00:50:57,347 It might not have been sent by Georgie, 1121 00:50:57,472 --> 00:50:59,308 but it was sent by somebody. 1122 00:50:59,433 --> 00:51:02,978 ‐ Any frustration or hurt or anger, even, over this? 1123 00:51:03,103 --> 00:51:04,354 ‐ I think hurt from the standpoint 1124 00:51:04,521 --> 00:51:06,732 that there wasn't any satisfactory answer. 1125 00:51:06,857 --> 00:51:09,860 That it seemed to be a cover‐up. 1126 00:51:09,985 --> 00:51:12,195 In the end, nobody had an answer. 1127 00:51:12,321 --> 00:51:13,447 ‐ So you know what we're trying to do here 1128 00:51:13,572 --> 00:51:14,823 is try to get down to the truth, 1129 00:51:14,948 --> 00:51:15,907 the truth of what happened. 1130 00:51:16,074 --> 00:51:18,035 And if we do succeed, 1131 00:51:18,160 --> 00:51:20,954 what would the truth mean to you with this? 1132 00:51:21,079 --> 00:51:22,873 ‐ Well, it'd finalize everything 1133 00:51:22,998 --> 00:51:24,124 for the family, for myself, 1134 00:51:24,249 --> 00:51:26,376 but I think I already know the outcome, 1135 00:51:26,501 --> 00:51:29,504 but it would be nice to, you know, to find the planes. 1136 00:51:29,630 --> 00:51:34,009 ♪ ♪ 1137 00:51:34,134 --> 00:51:35,677 ‐ I really feel for the Paonessa family, 1138 00:51:35,761 --> 00:51:38,930 because we don't really know what the situation was, 1139 00:51:39,056 --> 00:51:40,515 whether that was a hoax. 1140 00:51:40,599 --> 00:51:42,225 It kind of goes down as a hoax. 1141 00:51:42,351 --> 00:51:44,519 But why would anybody do that? 1142 00:51:44,603 --> 00:51:46,229 You know? Why? 1143 00:51:46,396 --> 00:51:49,358 I mean, I kind of lean on believing it, 1144 00:51:49,483 --> 00:51:52,569 in other words that, you know, maybe he deserted. 1145 00:51:52,736 --> 00:51:55,364 Maybe he had enough. Maybe he wanted to get out. 1146 00:51:55,447 --> 00:51:58,367 Maybe our search inland 1147 00:51:58,492 --> 00:52:01,662 will discover something that ties that together. 1148 00:52:01,745 --> 00:52:04,581 ♪ ♪ 1149 00:52:04,706 --> 00:52:06,333 Fishburne: The Paonessa telegram 1150 00:52:06,416 --> 00:52:08,418 could add more weight to the theory 1151 00:52:08,543 --> 00:52:12,547 that one or more of the planes somehow made it back to land. 1152 00:52:12,673 --> 00:52:15,008 ♪ ♪ 1153 00:52:15,175 --> 00:52:17,177 Could this clue connect to the plane 1154 00:52:17,302 --> 00:52:21,139 Graham Stikelether's father allegedly found in 1962? 1155 00:52:21,223 --> 00:52:23,266 ♪ ♪ 1156 00:52:23,392 --> 00:52:25,143 While Wayne and David 1157 00:52:25,227 --> 00:52:29,856 may be on the verge of a major breakthrough... 1158 00:52:29,981 --> 00:52:32,734 back on RV Petrel, 1159 00:52:32,859 --> 00:52:36,530 frustration is mounting among the deep‐sea team members. 1160 00:52:36,613 --> 00:52:38,365 ‐ Yeah, go ahead. 1161 00:52:38,448 --> 00:52:42,536 ‐ Um, that was a [bleep] bad idea. 1162 00:52:42,703 --> 00:52:45,956 ♪ ♪ 1163 00:52:46,081 --> 00:52:47,749 That was a terrible idea. 1164 00:52:47,874 --> 00:52:51,044 Fishburne: It's now mid‐March, 2020. 1165 00:52:51,169 --> 00:52:52,462 ‐ All right, Eric, we're away. 1166 00:52:52,587 --> 00:52:54,339 Fishburne: Rob Kraft and the crew 1167 00:52:54,423 --> 00:52:57,050 have been scouring the Bermuda Triangle for weeks 1168 00:52:57,217 --> 00:53:01,012 looking for any sign of the Avengers. 1169 00:53:01,096 --> 00:53:03,098 ‐ Nothing. 1170 00:53:03,223 --> 00:53:08,353 Nothing but a barren wasteland. 1171 00:53:08,437 --> 00:53:13,108 Fishburne: Kraft knew this search would be a slow grind. 1172 00:53:13,233 --> 00:53:15,736 But there is some good news at last. 1173 00:53:15,861 --> 00:53:18,071 ♪ ♪ 1174 00:53:18,196 --> 00:53:20,574 They have detected a promising new target. 1175 00:53:20,699 --> 00:53:22,743 ‐ It's around a thousand meters or so, 1176 00:53:22,909 --> 00:53:26,455 so it's not going to take long to get the ROV down there. 1177 00:53:26,580 --> 00:53:29,416 We should be able to get a good look at this 1178 00:53:29,583 --> 00:53:31,251 and decide whether it's one of our planes or not. 1179 00:53:31,418 --> 00:53:33,462 ‐ Hold it there. ‐ Yeah. 1180 00:53:33,545 --> 00:53:36,798 ♪ ♪ 1181 00:53:36,882 --> 00:53:39,843 ‐ We'll start to push it toward the target, Rob, yeah? 1182 00:53:40,010 --> 00:53:42,888 ‐ Yeah. 1183 00:53:43,054 --> 00:53:44,806 Dead ahead, what is that, Rudy? 1184 00:53:44,931 --> 00:53:46,683 There's something. 1185 00:53:46,767 --> 00:53:49,811 ♪ ♪ 1186 00:53:49,895 --> 00:53:51,688 Fishburne: As the target comes into view, 1187 00:53:51,772 --> 00:53:55,400 it's clear it's definitely manmade. 1188 00:53:55,567 --> 00:54:00,739 And it's clear it's definitely not a plane. 1189 00:54:00,864 --> 00:54:05,535 Most likely it's a fridge, thrown overboard as trash. 1190 00:54:05,660 --> 00:54:06,870 ♪ ♪ 1191 00:54:06,995 --> 00:54:08,705 ‐ Well, it's an adventure. 1192 00:54:08,872 --> 00:54:12,209 ‐ You know what an adventure is? ‐ What? 1193 00:54:12,334 --> 00:54:13,210 ‐ It's a poorly planned vacation. 1194 00:54:13,376 --> 00:54:15,253 [both laugh] 1195 00:54:15,378 --> 00:54:18,131 Fishburne: The team can still joke. 1196 00:54:18,215 --> 00:54:22,260 They've proven they can detect even the smallest objects. 1197 00:54:22,385 --> 00:54:25,222 And Rob Kraft is convinced that all they need to do 1198 00:54:25,347 --> 00:54:28,225 is finish mapping their prime target area. 1199 00:54:28,391 --> 00:54:33,647 ‐ To date, we've covered about 210, 220 square nautical miles. 1200 00:54:33,730 --> 00:54:37,901 So it's really just the beginning of this search. 1201 00:54:38,026 --> 00:54:39,694 ♪ ♪ 1202 00:54:39,778 --> 00:54:42,072 It's just going to take a lot of time to cover it all. 1203 00:54:42,197 --> 00:54:44,241 ‐ Breaking news tonight. 1204 00:54:44,366 --> 00:54:46,243 The U. S. and Canada closing their borders 1205 00:54:46,368 --> 00:54:48,912 as the coronavirus pandemic deepens. 1206 00:54:49,037 --> 00:54:51,456 Fishburne: But time is something Rob Kraft 1207 00:54:51,581 --> 00:54:53,041 has just run out of. 1208 00:54:53,208 --> 00:54:54,376 ‐ The World Health Organization 1209 00:54:54,543 --> 00:54:56,169 has officially named it COVID‐19. 1210 00:54:56,336 --> 00:54:57,879 ‐ A new wave of states are issuing 1211 00:54:58,004 --> 00:54:59,673 stay‐at‐home orders tonight, 1212 00:54:59,756 --> 00:55:01,967 recognizing the measures needed to control the virus... 1213 00:55:02,050 --> 00:55:05,679 ‐ So we've had to cut the mission short. 1214 00:55:05,804 --> 00:55:07,514 There's a bit of craziness going on with this coronavirus, 1215 00:55:07,639 --> 00:55:09,641 so we're going to shut it down right now 1216 00:55:09,724 --> 00:55:11,518 and get everybody a chance to get home 1217 00:55:11,601 --> 00:55:13,728 so they can get rested up and we can get back out here. 1218 00:55:13,854 --> 00:55:15,647 Fishburne: Petrel is driven to port 1219 00:55:15,772 --> 00:55:19,693 by the pandemic and locked down. 1220 00:55:19,818 --> 00:55:22,571 But with the discovery of a provocative new target, 1221 00:55:22,737 --> 00:55:25,740 the search is just heating up. 1222 00:55:29,744 --> 00:55:31,329 A team of investigators 1223 00:55:31,413 --> 00:55:32,539 are on the hunt for the Bermuda Triangle's 1224 00:55:32,622 --> 00:55:35,292 most famous disappearance: 1225 00:55:35,417 --> 00:55:38,962 Flight 19. 1226 00:55:39,045 --> 00:55:41,298 The COVID pandemic has thrown a wrench 1227 00:55:41,381 --> 00:55:44,509 into the offshore search. 1228 00:55:44,593 --> 00:55:47,512 But on land, David O'Keefe and Wayne Abbott 1229 00:55:47,637 --> 00:55:51,558 are now following up on a tantalizing clue: 1230 00:55:51,683 --> 00:55:56,187 a 50‐caliber machine gun that could be from Flight 19. 1231 00:55:56,313 --> 00:55:58,398 ♪ ♪ 1232 00:55:58,523 --> 00:55:59,357 ‐ You've attempted to cross‐reference 1233 00:55:59,482 --> 00:56:00,859 the serial number 1234 00:56:00,942 --> 00:56:02,694 with the reports written at the time? 1235 00:56:02,777 --> 00:56:04,362 ‐ That's what I was planning to do. 1236 00:56:04,446 --> 00:56:06,323 The problem is trying to find the reports. 1237 00:56:06,406 --> 00:56:08,867 ♪ ♪ 1238 00:56:08,950 --> 00:56:10,493 Fishburne: The gun was allegedly recovered 1239 00:56:10,619 --> 00:56:14,581 by a Florida judge in the 1960s. 1240 00:56:14,748 --> 00:56:17,459 Naval officials initially told the judge 1241 00:56:17,584 --> 00:56:22,005 that the plane was part of Flight 19. 1242 00:56:22,088 --> 00:56:26,176 But the Navy later denied any knowledge of the incident. 1243 00:56:26,343 --> 00:56:28,011 ♪ ♪ 1244 00:56:28,178 --> 00:56:32,849 The gun is the only evidence of the crash. 1245 00:56:32,933 --> 00:56:35,727 But after an exhaustive search, 1246 00:56:35,852 --> 00:56:40,941 David has failed to uncover any record of this serial number. 1247 00:56:41,066 --> 00:56:43,151 ‐ I'm not going to call it a cover‐up or anything, 1248 00:56:43,234 --> 00:56:46,947 but the judge tried to get information out of the Navy 1249 00:56:47,072 --> 00:56:49,783 once they cleared the wreck, and he came up empty. 1250 00:56:49,908 --> 00:56:51,618 ‐ Yeah, I can understand the 1960s. 1251 00:56:51,743 --> 00:56:53,370 It was still kind of fresh. It was new. 1252 00:56:53,453 --> 00:56:55,038 There was security classifications. 1253 00:56:55,121 --> 00:56:56,748 But 75 years later? 1254 00:56:56,915 --> 00:56:59,000 I mean, it should be relatively easy 1255 00:56:59,084 --> 00:57:02,963 to get our hands on this information if it still exists. 1256 00:57:03,046 --> 00:57:05,256 Fishburne: Typically, 50‐caliber machine guns 1257 00:57:05,382 --> 00:57:07,676 were carefully tracked, 1258 00:57:07,801 --> 00:57:11,805 so the missing serial number raises eyebrows. 1259 00:57:11,888 --> 00:57:15,016 Is there something the Navy is hiding? 1260 00:57:15,183 --> 00:57:19,187 Or is there a less conspiratorial explanation 1261 00:57:19,312 --> 00:57:22,941 for why David has been unable to locate the records? 1262 00:57:23,066 --> 00:57:25,026 ‐ This is December 1945. 1263 00:57:25,110 --> 00:57:28,071 There's a big giant war machine that is starting to gear down. 1264 00:57:28,196 --> 00:57:29,698 And who knows, you know? 1265 00:57:29,864 --> 00:57:31,533 Who knows whether, you know, the people on the base 1266 00:57:31,700 --> 00:57:32,867 took their eye off the ball a little bit? 1267 00:57:32,951 --> 00:57:35,120 You know, you're no longer at war. 1268 00:57:35,245 --> 00:57:36,621 All you want to do is get home. 1269 00:57:36,746 --> 00:57:39,708 Maybe your record‐keeping is not as good as it was. 1270 00:57:39,791 --> 00:57:41,876 Fishburne: David still believes 1271 00:57:42,002 --> 00:57:45,922 the serial number records are buried somewhere. 1272 00:57:46,047 --> 00:57:50,969 But a definitive answer won't come anytime soon. 1273 00:57:51,094 --> 00:57:54,139 The pandemic has shut down the archives. 1274 00:57:54,222 --> 00:57:57,350 ♪ ♪ 1275 00:57:57,434 --> 00:57:59,811 ‐ We are now locked down. 1276 00:57:59,894 --> 00:58:02,397 We're shut out. So for the time being, 1277 00:58:02,564 --> 00:58:04,607 this remains one heck of a mystery. 1278 00:58:04,733 --> 00:58:06,693 Fishburne: And the news for Rob Kraft 1279 00:58:06,818 --> 00:58:10,405 has gone from bad to worse. 1280 00:58:10,572 --> 00:58:13,450 The pandemic has forced RV Petrel off the water 1281 00:58:13,575 --> 00:58:16,494 for seven months and counting. 1282 00:58:16,619 --> 00:58:18,538 ‐ We had no idea that it was going to have 1283 00:58:18,621 --> 00:58:20,707 the impact that it did. 1284 00:58:20,832 --> 00:58:22,709 The boat went into the dry dock period, 1285 00:58:22,834 --> 00:58:26,671 and so right now, it's unavailable. 1286 00:58:26,755 --> 00:58:28,506 Fishburne: Hopes of finding the missing Avengers 1287 00:58:28,631 --> 00:58:31,176 are dwindling. 1288 00:58:31,301 --> 00:58:38,183 ♪ ♪ 1289 00:58:40,435 --> 00:58:45,690 But Rob Kraft has never been one to go down without a fight. 1290 00:58:45,815 --> 00:58:48,860 With Petrel's high‐tech tools off the table, 1291 00:58:48,985 --> 00:58:50,528 he has assembled an ad‐hoc team 1292 00:58:50,612 --> 00:58:53,031 to go after a provocative new lead, 1293 00:58:53,114 --> 00:58:55,200 code‐named "Target 77." 1294 00:58:55,325 --> 00:58:59,454 ‐ This target was discovered by another survey, 1295 00:58:59,579 --> 00:59:01,748 and it was an incidental target. 1296 00:59:01,873 --> 00:59:04,876 It was not something that they were actually looking for. 1297 00:59:05,001 --> 00:59:06,628 Fishburne: While the target 1298 00:59:06,711 --> 00:59:08,963 is outside Kraft's primary search area, 1299 00:59:09,047 --> 00:59:12,967 it is well within Flight 19's range. 1300 00:59:13,093 --> 00:59:18,473 And the sonar image matches the wingspan of a TBM Avenger. 1301 00:59:18,598 --> 00:59:20,308 ‐ It's the right signature in sonar. 1302 00:59:20,391 --> 00:59:24,187 It's the right size. 1303 00:59:24,312 --> 00:59:26,314 It is definitely something we need to go look at. 1304 00:59:26,397 --> 00:59:28,775 Fishburne: Rob Kraft and Petrel's lead technician, 1305 00:59:28,900 --> 00:59:31,069 Paul Mayer, are teaming up 1306 00:59:31,194 --> 00:59:34,531 with Micah Eldred and Dan Taylor on this expedition. 1307 00:59:34,656 --> 00:59:36,491 ‐ So what do you have on this target? 1308 00:59:36,574 --> 00:59:39,536 ‐ We found this target doing a big survey out here with an AUV, 1309 00:59:39,702 --> 00:59:41,079 and this is going to be the first time we've‐‐ 1310 00:59:41,246 --> 00:59:44,374 We've got an ROV on it to see what's there. 1311 00:59:44,541 --> 00:59:46,793 ‐ Excavate a little bit there, or...? 1312 00:59:46,918 --> 00:59:49,087 Fishburne: Dan and Micah are modern‐day treasure hunters. 1313 00:59:49,212 --> 00:59:50,672 ‐ Look at that. 1314 00:59:50,797 --> 00:59:52,674 Fishburne: They search for lost ships, 1315 00:59:52,799 --> 00:59:55,301 some known to have gone down with cargo 1316 00:59:55,385 --> 00:59:57,220 worth millions of dollars. 1317 00:59:57,345 --> 00:59:59,180 ‐ There's not a lot of people in the world that do this, 1318 00:59:59,264 --> 01:00:02,642 particularly in the deep ocean, because it's so expensive. 1319 01:00:02,767 --> 01:00:05,186 For us, not independently wealthy, 1320 01:00:05,353 --> 01:00:07,105 we needed to find targets 1321 01:00:07,230 --> 01:00:09,190 that could potentially find commercial cargo 1322 01:00:09,274 --> 01:00:10,733 that would be of value. 1323 01:00:10,900 --> 01:00:12,777 Fishburne: Micah and Dan 1324 01:00:12,902 --> 01:00:14,988 were conducting sonar scans in an area 1325 01:00:15,071 --> 01:00:19,409 known for colonial‐era shipwrecks... 1326 01:00:19,534 --> 01:00:21,703 when they stumbled across what looked like an airplane. 1327 01:00:21,786 --> 01:00:24,873 where an airplane should not be. 1328 01:00:24,956 --> 01:00:27,876 ‐ I was like, "Hey, what's this airplane doing out here?" 1329 01:00:28,001 --> 01:00:29,335 It's not on a flight path where you would go 1330 01:00:29,460 --> 01:00:31,671 with a single‐engine aircraft. 1331 01:00:31,838 --> 01:00:33,756 We came to the conclusion that this could be 1332 01:00:33,882 --> 01:00:35,466 one of those Avengers. 1333 01:00:35,550 --> 01:00:38,636 ♪ ♪ 1334 01:00:38,720 --> 01:00:41,806 Fishburne: With Petrel's future uncertain, 1335 01:00:41,890 --> 01:00:43,850 this could very well be Kraft's best shot 1336 01:00:43,933 --> 01:00:46,686 to find the lost squadron. 1337 01:00:46,769 --> 01:00:49,772 ‐ We have to go identify this target, 1338 01:00:49,898 --> 01:00:51,566 and this is all we can do right now. 1339 01:00:51,691 --> 01:00:54,194 This is our last chance. 1340 01:00:54,319 --> 01:00:56,196 ♪ ♪ 1341 01:00:56,279 --> 01:00:57,947 Fishburne: As Kraft and the Go America 1342 01:00:58,072 --> 01:01:00,658 head toward the mystery wreck in deepwater... 1343 01:01:00,742 --> 01:01:03,161 ♪ ♪ 1344 01:01:03,244 --> 01:01:05,205 back onshore, 1345 01:01:05,371 --> 01:01:07,957 Mike Barnette is meeting Wayne Abbott and David O'Keefe 1346 01:01:08,082 --> 01:01:10,960 to review a new series of targets. 1347 01:01:11,044 --> 01:01:12,670 ‐ Well, I think our investigation 1348 01:01:12,837 --> 01:01:14,964 has run its course, you know, for now. 1349 01:01:15,048 --> 01:01:17,383 And I think it's up to you and Kraft to get out there 1350 01:01:17,508 --> 01:01:19,135 and search that deeper water. 1351 01:01:19,219 --> 01:01:20,887 ‐ Yeah, I think, you know, Rob has got 1352 01:01:21,054 --> 01:01:23,014 a very worthwhile target he's going to be looking at, 1353 01:01:23,139 --> 01:01:24,557 and I have that cluster of aircraft 1354 01:01:24,724 --> 01:01:26,017 that we're going to check out. 1355 01:01:26,142 --> 01:01:28,895 ‐ Oh? ‐ A cluster of plane wrecks. 1356 01:01:29,020 --> 01:01:31,147 That's what we're looking for. ‐ Yeah. 1357 01:01:31,231 --> 01:01:33,024 When this fishermen told me he's got three, four aircraft 1358 01:01:33,149 --> 01:01:34,692 within about five miles of each other. 1359 01:01:34,776 --> 01:01:36,027 ‐ No way. 1360 01:01:36,152 --> 01:01:37,654 ‐ Which is a pretty tight cluster 1361 01:01:37,779 --> 01:01:40,031 when you're talking about 80 miles offshore. 1362 01:01:40,156 --> 01:01:42,242 So we're going to focus on that now. 1363 01:01:42,408 --> 01:01:44,827 Fishburne: Barnette's intel for this cluster of plane wrecks 1364 01:01:44,911 --> 01:01:49,415 comes from spear fisherman Jeff Marinko. 1365 01:01:49,582 --> 01:01:51,042 ‐ Warp speed. 1366 01:01:51,167 --> 01:01:52,752 There's no secrets in the ocean. 1367 01:01:52,919 --> 01:01:56,172 And I feel, if it's in traveled water, 1368 01:01:56,297 --> 01:01:59,425 somebody has a number for a Flight 19 wreck. 1369 01:01:59,550 --> 01:02:04,013 It's just a matter of when it lands in the right hands. 1370 01:02:04,138 --> 01:02:09,227 ♪ ♪ 1371 01:02:09,394 --> 01:02:12,188 Fishburne: The team begins their descent. 1372 01:02:12,313 --> 01:02:15,066 ♪ ♪ 1373 01:02:15,233 --> 01:02:19,696 This time, they hit pay dirt. 1374 01:02:19,862 --> 01:02:23,533 The unmistakable outline of an aircraft. 1375 01:02:23,616 --> 01:02:26,160 Could this be Flight 19? 1376 01:02:30,415 --> 01:02:32,542 Deep in the waters off Florida's coast, 1377 01:02:32,667 --> 01:02:35,837 Mike Barnette is part of a team of investigators 1378 01:02:35,962 --> 01:02:39,132 out to solve the Bermuda Triangle's greatest mystery: 1379 01:02:39,215 --> 01:02:41,384 Flight 19, 1380 01:02:41,509 --> 01:02:46,055 a squadron of torpedo bombers that disappeared in 1945. 1381 01:02:46,180 --> 01:02:47,849 ♪ ♪ 1382 01:02:47,974 --> 01:02:49,517 ‐ Going down the water column, 1383 01:02:49,684 --> 01:02:51,436 we actually have great visibility. 1384 01:02:51,561 --> 01:02:53,521 We got down, the marine life came out and looked at us, 1385 01:02:53,604 --> 01:02:55,023 realized they can't eat us, 1386 01:02:55,148 --> 01:02:57,233 and they headed back to the wreck. 1387 01:02:57,358 --> 01:02:59,193 So we followed them, 1388 01:02:59,277 --> 01:03:02,363 and that's when we found an aircraft wreck. 1389 01:03:02,447 --> 01:03:05,825 ♪ ♪ 1390 01:03:05,908 --> 01:03:08,286 Any initial dive that I do on a new wreck site, 1391 01:03:08,411 --> 01:03:12,290 I want to try to gather as much information as possible. 1392 01:03:12,415 --> 01:03:13,875 The prop of an aircraft, 1393 01:03:14,000 --> 01:03:15,835 is it three blades versus four blades? 1394 01:03:15,918 --> 01:03:18,004 Basic size, how many engines? 1395 01:03:18,129 --> 01:03:19,922 ♪ ♪ 1396 01:03:20,048 --> 01:03:21,966 But as we look a little bit closer, 1397 01:03:22,091 --> 01:03:25,803 the site's dominated by a large turbine jet engine. 1398 01:03:25,887 --> 01:03:28,681 And so this is not World War II vintage. 1399 01:03:28,806 --> 01:03:32,685 This is not what we're looking for. 1400 01:03:32,769 --> 01:03:34,562 But this aircraft has a story to tell. 1401 01:03:34,687 --> 01:03:37,023 ♪ ♪ 1402 01:03:37,106 --> 01:03:38,566 Diving on sites like this, 1403 01:03:38,691 --> 01:03:39,817 you have to keep emotions in check. 1404 01:03:39,942 --> 01:03:41,486 There could be very well 1405 01:03:41,569 --> 01:03:44,030 a fatality associated with these sites. 1406 01:03:44,155 --> 01:03:46,574 ♪ ♪ 1407 01:03:46,699 --> 01:03:49,035 It's definitely a jet engine fighter aircraft, 1408 01:03:49,160 --> 01:03:50,995 most likely from the 1960s or '70s, 1409 01:03:51,120 --> 01:03:53,039 or maybe even more recent. 1410 01:03:53,164 --> 01:03:54,749 Odds are, the U. S. Navy probably has a report 1411 01:03:54,916 --> 01:03:56,334 of this crash site right here, 1412 01:03:56,459 --> 01:04:00,963 or at least an event in the near vicinity. 1413 01:04:01,047 --> 01:04:03,424 Fishburne: Barnette identifies the wreck 1414 01:04:03,549 --> 01:04:05,760 as an F‐8 Crusader, 1415 01:04:05,885 --> 01:04:09,180 at one time the fastest vehicle in the world. 1416 01:04:09,305 --> 01:04:11,349 ♪ ♪ 1417 01:04:11,432 --> 01:04:15,812 Naval records reveal a deadly 1966 incident 1418 01:04:15,937 --> 01:04:19,315 that's likely tied to this wreck. 1419 01:04:19,399 --> 01:04:21,776 The Navy lost contact with a Crusader 1420 01:04:21,901 --> 01:04:24,987 on patrol in this area... 1421 01:04:25,113 --> 01:04:29,742 later finding only an oil slick and some floating debris. 1422 01:04:29,867 --> 01:04:32,870 The cause of the crash remains unknown. 1423 01:04:32,954 --> 01:04:35,873 ♪ ♪ 1424 01:04:36,040 --> 01:04:38,334 Barnette will report his discovery to the Navy, 1425 01:04:38,459 --> 01:04:42,171 who can more fully investigate and inform the family. 1426 01:04:42,255 --> 01:04:44,340 ♪ ♪ 1427 01:04:44,507 --> 01:04:47,343 While this wreck is not from Flight 19, 1428 01:04:47,468 --> 01:04:49,220 it's proof that Mike's intel is good 1429 01:04:49,345 --> 01:04:53,057 and his approach is working. 1430 01:04:53,182 --> 01:04:55,351 ‐ Just going out blindly and diving in the water 1431 01:04:55,518 --> 01:04:56,936 is not very productive. 1432 01:04:57,061 --> 01:04:58,396 I mean, every hour you can spend in a library, 1433 01:04:58,563 --> 01:05:00,273 in the archives, speaking to commercial fishermen, 1434 01:05:00,398 --> 01:05:03,151 every little piece of that puzzle 1435 01:05:03,234 --> 01:05:05,736 can come together to solve the mystery. 1436 01:05:05,862 --> 01:05:07,989 ♪ ♪ 1437 01:05:08,114 --> 01:05:10,199 Fishburne: Back aboard Go America, 1438 01:05:10,324 --> 01:05:12,201 shipwreck investigator Dan Taylor believes 1439 01:05:12,326 --> 01:05:16,747 the key to the Triangle mystery is a bizarre subsea anomaly. 1440 01:05:16,873 --> 01:05:18,708 ♪ ♪ 1441 01:05:18,791 --> 01:05:22,336 Methane bubbles. 1442 01:05:22,420 --> 01:05:26,174 Naturally occurring gas seeps are not uncommon. 1443 01:05:26,340 --> 01:05:30,386 But Dan's seen evidence that in the Bermuda Triangle, 1444 01:05:30,511 --> 01:05:31,804 they can be lethal. 1445 01:05:31,929 --> 01:05:34,140 ‐ On one of our surveys, 1446 01:05:34,223 --> 01:05:37,185 we discovered huge crater‐like formations. 1447 01:05:37,268 --> 01:05:39,479 ♪ ♪ 1448 01:05:39,562 --> 01:05:41,063 We had no idea what these things were. 1449 01:05:41,189 --> 01:05:43,524 The largest one was 600 meters across. 1450 01:05:43,608 --> 01:05:45,318 ♪ ♪ 1451 01:05:45,443 --> 01:05:47,153 Fishburne: There is growing scientific consensus 1452 01:05:47,236 --> 01:05:50,698 that when subsea methane deposits explode, 1453 01:05:50,781 --> 01:05:53,075 they can create a massive bubble 1454 01:05:53,242 --> 01:05:56,871 with the potential to displace water and sink ships. 1455 01:05:56,954 --> 01:05:59,749 ‐ A 600‐meter gas hydrate bubble 1456 01:05:59,874 --> 01:06:02,251 would create a bubble on the surface of the ocean 1457 01:06:02,376 --> 01:06:05,546 that's miles, miles wide. 1458 01:06:05,713 --> 01:06:08,007 If you were a vessel 1459 01:06:08,174 --> 01:06:10,593 and a bubble burst underneath you, 1460 01:06:10,718 --> 01:06:13,804 then you would simply fall off the planet, 1461 01:06:13,930 --> 01:06:15,306 into the abyss, 1462 01:06:15,389 --> 01:06:18,017 and the water would swallow you. 1463 01:06:18,184 --> 01:06:19,477 Fishburne: Some even speculate 1464 01:06:19,602 --> 01:06:20,853 they can create lethal turbulence 1465 01:06:20,978 --> 01:06:24,232 and down aircraft. 1466 01:06:24,357 --> 01:06:28,319 Could this explain the disappearance of Flight 19? 1467 01:06:28,402 --> 01:06:31,531 ♪ ♪ 1468 01:06:31,614 --> 01:06:35,535 Or is this another farfetched explanation 1469 01:06:35,701 --> 01:06:39,205 for what may have been a tragically simple disaster? 1470 01:06:39,330 --> 01:06:41,457 ‐ This story took on a life of its own, 1471 01:06:41,582 --> 01:06:43,376 and people were connecting it to aliens and vortexes 1472 01:06:43,501 --> 01:06:45,336 and, you know, different dimensions. 1473 01:06:45,461 --> 01:06:49,006 Fishburne: Paranormal and supernatural explanations 1474 01:06:49,131 --> 01:06:50,967 have proliferated. 1475 01:06:51,050 --> 01:06:53,719 They include subsea crystal pyramids, 1476 01:06:53,844 --> 01:06:56,847 alien abductions, time warps, 1477 01:06:56,973 --> 01:07:00,851 and vortexes to alternate dimensions. 1478 01:07:00,977 --> 01:07:06,065 ‐ When Flight 19 disappears out over the Bermuda Triangle, 1479 01:07:06,190 --> 01:07:08,192 people want some bigger explanation. 1480 01:07:08,317 --> 01:07:09,819 They want something better 1481 01:07:09,944 --> 01:07:13,364 than the crew made a navigational error, 1482 01:07:13,531 --> 01:07:17,285 because that seems so hard to reconcile. 1483 01:07:17,410 --> 01:07:21,372 To lose someone for something so common and banal 1484 01:07:21,497 --> 01:07:24,083 is just a little bit too painful. 1485 01:07:24,208 --> 01:07:27,044 But if you lose them to supernatural forces, 1486 01:07:27,169 --> 01:07:30,339 suddenly it all makes sense. 1487 01:07:30,423 --> 01:07:31,799 ‐ Everybody's looking for the one reason 1488 01:07:31,924 --> 01:07:33,384 why they got lost. 1489 01:07:33,551 --> 01:07:35,136 The one reason they didn't come home. 1490 01:07:35,219 --> 01:07:36,846 [thunder crashing] 1491 01:07:36,971 --> 01:07:38,514 But it doesn't work that way 1492 01:07:38,681 --> 01:07:39,890 There are plenty of different reasons, 1493 01:07:40,016 --> 01:07:43,561 all playing off of each other. 1494 01:07:43,728 --> 01:07:45,688 And the only way we're really going to solve this 1495 01:07:45,813 --> 01:07:47,690 is if we find an aircraft. 1496 01:07:47,815 --> 01:07:49,609 ♪ ♪ 1497 01:07:49,734 --> 01:07:51,861 Fishburne: Onboard the Go America, 1498 01:07:51,986 --> 01:07:54,989 that's exactly what underwater explorer Rob Kraft 1499 01:07:55,072 --> 01:07:57,366 is hoping to do. 1500 01:07:57,450 --> 01:08:00,453 He has teamed up with modern‐day treasure hunters 1501 01:08:00,578 --> 01:08:03,873 Micah Eldred and Dan Taylor 1502 01:08:03,998 --> 01:08:06,167 to investigate target 77: 1503 01:08:06,250 --> 01:08:10,671 a wreck the size of the Avengers from Flight 19. 1504 01:08:10,838 --> 01:08:13,174 ‐ It looks really good. 1505 01:08:13,257 --> 01:08:15,551 It's the same size as an Avenger, 1506 01:08:15,676 --> 01:08:19,347 so we got a pretty good shot here. 1507 01:08:19,472 --> 01:08:21,641 Fishburne: They are 300 miles offshore 1508 01:08:21,724 --> 01:08:24,769 in the heart of the Bermuda Triangle, 1509 01:08:24,894 --> 01:08:26,854 on a vessel that has been retrofitted 1510 01:08:26,979 --> 01:08:28,522 for deep‐sea exploration. 1511 01:08:28,648 --> 01:08:30,524 ‐ She's digging in quite hard on the front. 1512 01:08:30,608 --> 01:08:32,318 ‐ Gotcha. 1513 01:08:32,401 --> 01:08:34,153 Fishburne: Rough conditions make it challenging 1514 01:08:34,236 --> 01:08:37,698 to launch the remotely operated vehicle, or ROV. 1515 01:08:37,823 --> 01:08:39,325 ♪ ♪ 1516 01:08:39,408 --> 01:08:41,869 ‐ The boat's pitching and rolling quite a bit, 1517 01:08:41,994 --> 01:08:44,246 so as soon as you pick that heavy vehicle up off the deck, 1518 01:08:44,413 --> 01:08:46,082 it starts swinging. 1519 01:08:46,248 --> 01:08:49,418 And once that happens, you can't really stop it. 1520 01:08:49,543 --> 01:08:51,170 You've got to set it down and try again. 1521 01:08:51,295 --> 01:08:53,756 ‐ All right, left side. Nice and easy. 1522 01:08:53,881 --> 01:08:56,842 [dramatic music] 1523 01:08:56,926 --> 01:09:03,349 ♪ ♪ 1524 01:09:03,432 --> 01:09:05,810 ‐ Ooh, she didn't want to go, did she? 1525 01:09:05,893 --> 01:09:08,020 ♪ ♪ 1526 01:09:08,104 --> 01:09:10,690 ‐ 9‐5‐0. 1527 01:09:10,815 --> 01:09:12,024 ♪ ♪ 1528 01:09:12,108 --> 01:09:13,025 ‐ We're off bottom. 1529 01:09:13,150 --> 01:09:14,652 ‐ Winch all stop. 1530 01:09:14,777 --> 01:09:15,903 ‐ Eagle has landed. 1531 01:09:16,070 --> 01:09:18,364 Fishburne: Ahead, 1532 01:09:18,531 --> 01:09:21,158 the ROV detects the unmistakable outline 1533 01:09:21,283 --> 01:09:24,870 of an aircraft. 1534 01:09:24,954 --> 01:09:28,999 ‐ Wing, wing, nose, tail. 1535 01:09:29,083 --> 01:09:30,793 ‐ That's an aircraft. 1536 01:09:30,918 --> 01:09:33,421 No doubt. 1537 01:09:33,546 --> 01:09:35,548 Fishburne: Will this aircraft 1538 01:09:35,673 --> 01:09:38,592 finally unlock the mystery of what happened to Flight 19? 1539 01:09:43,514 --> 01:09:45,516 Fishburne: In the heart of the Bermuda Triangle, 1540 01:09:45,641 --> 01:09:48,644 underwater explorer Rob Kraft watches 1541 01:09:48,728 --> 01:09:52,022 as a remote vehicle approaches a mysterious plane wreck. 1542 01:09:52,189 --> 01:09:56,026 ♪ ♪ 1543 01:09:56,152 --> 01:09:59,655 He's searching for the Triangle's most famous victims: 1544 01:09:59,739 --> 01:10:03,826 five Avenger torpedo bombers that vanished without a trace. 1545 01:10:03,909 --> 01:10:07,955 ♪ ♪ 1546 01:10:08,080 --> 01:10:10,958 ‐ Visibility is really bad. 1547 01:10:11,083 --> 01:10:12,835 ‐ The current's really strong. 1548 01:10:12,960 --> 01:10:15,671 Trying to push me to port. 1549 01:10:15,755 --> 01:10:17,506 ♪ ♪ 1550 01:10:17,673 --> 01:10:18,924 You're on it. 1551 01:10:19,049 --> 01:10:21,886 ♪ ♪ 1552 01:10:22,011 --> 01:10:23,846 ‐ There it is. 1553 01:10:23,971 --> 01:10:27,475 ♪ ♪ 1554 01:10:27,558 --> 01:10:31,020 ‐ There's the prop right there. 1555 01:10:31,187 --> 01:10:34,148 ‐ Is that the cockpit to the left? 1556 01:10:34,231 --> 01:10:36,692 ‐ There's a windshield there. 1557 01:10:36,859 --> 01:10:38,110 ‐ Looks like it's white, doesn't it? 1558 01:10:38,235 --> 01:10:39,820 ‐ Yeah. 1559 01:10:39,945 --> 01:10:43,199 ‐ Stripes. 1560 01:10:43,324 --> 01:10:46,827 Yeah. 1561 01:10:46,911 --> 01:10:48,746 It's not our bird. 1562 01:10:48,871 --> 01:10:52,500 ♪ ♪ 1563 01:10:52,625 --> 01:10:55,211 Well, we definitely have an airplane, 1564 01:10:55,377 --> 01:10:57,546 but we've got some paint markings on this aircraft 1565 01:10:57,671 --> 01:10:59,381 that indicate that it's commercial. 1566 01:10:59,507 --> 01:11:02,885 It's not military. 1567 01:11:03,010 --> 01:11:07,765 So it's not an Avenger. 1568 01:11:07,890 --> 01:11:10,351 Fishburne: From the yellow and white paint, 1569 01:11:10,476 --> 01:11:13,854 it's immediately clear this is not Flight 19. 1570 01:11:13,979 --> 01:11:16,774 ♪ ♪ 1571 01:11:16,899 --> 01:11:18,901 So what is it? 1572 01:11:19,068 --> 01:11:21,278 And how did it end up here? 1573 01:11:21,403 --> 01:11:24,740 ‐ You can see the shapes and how this lines up 1574 01:11:24,907 --> 01:11:27,827 with the window, sits down below here. 1575 01:11:27,910 --> 01:11:30,371 ‐ This little triangular window here is‐‐ 1576 01:11:30,454 --> 01:11:34,750 It's a really unique feature on this airplane. 1577 01:11:34,875 --> 01:11:37,127 Fishburne: The team identify the aircraft 1578 01:11:37,211 --> 01:11:39,171 as a Cessna Skymaster. 1579 01:11:39,296 --> 01:11:41,257 ♪ ♪ 1580 01:11:41,382 --> 01:11:44,176 A ditched Cessna can float hundreds of miles 1581 01:11:44,301 --> 01:11:46,011 before sinking. 1582 01:11:46,178 --> 01:11:48,347 This wreck is most likely tied 1583 01:11:48,514 --> 01:11:51,559 to an accident report from 1982. 1584 01:11:51,725 --> 01:11:54,979 The pilot ran out of fuel and ditched over sea 1585 01:11:55,062 --> 01:11:58,023 before being rescued by the coast guard. 1586 01:11:58,148 --> 01:12:00,734 ♪ ♪ 1587 01:12:00,901 --> 01:12:02,903 ‐ We were excited to come out and rule out this target. 1588 01:12:03,028 --> 01:12:05,239 It needed to be done. 1589 01:12:05,406 --> 01:12:08,868 You know, we were always hoping to find an Avenger, 1590 01:12:09,034 --> 01:12:12,288 but this would lead us to believe or reaffirm our theory 1591 01:12:12,413 --> 01:12:16,542 that the flight is much further to the west. 1592 01:12:16,625 --> 01:12:19,753 So it is kind of a bittersweet ending. 1593 01:12:19,879 --> 01:12:21,839 ♪ ♪ 1594 01:12:21,964 --> 01:12:24,091 Fishburne: Now, their last chance of finding an Avenger 1595 01:12:24,216 --> 01:12:27,928 lies with Mike Barnette. 1596 01:12:28,053 --> 01:12:29,847 ‐ So, guys, I think we have the option for one more dive 1597 01:12:29,972 --> 01:12:31,849 before the weather really shuts us down for good. 1598 01:12:32,016 --> 01:12:33,809 Fishburne: He and his team have been exploring 1599 01:12:33,893 --> 01:12:37,187 a cluster of plane wrecks off the North Florida coast. 1600 01:12:37,313 --> 01:12:39,565 ♪ ♪ 1601 01:12:39,732 --> 01:12:41,275 They're racing to hit one last target 1602 01:12:41,400 --> 01:12:43,360 before weather closes the door for the season. 1603 01:12:43,485 --> 01:12:45,404 [thunder crashes] 1604 01:12:45,529 --> 01:12:48,365 But it may already be too late. 1605 01:12:48,449 --> 01:12:50,284 ‐ We have a hurricane to the east of us, 1606 01:12:50,409 --> 01:12:51,702 we have a hurricane to the west of us, 1607 01:12:51,785 --> 01:12:54,747 and here we are stuck in the middle. 1608 01:12:54,914 --> 01:12:57,207 Being out there in 25 knots, 70 miles offshore, 1609 01:12:57,374 --> 01:12:59,501 that's what's caused a lot of these shipwrecks out here. 1610 01:12:59,627 --> 01:13:01,003 We don't want to become one of them. 1611 01:13:01,086 --> 01:13:03,172 Fishburne: There's only a short window 1612 01:13:03,297 --> 01:13:06,508 before dangerous weather moves in. 1613 01:13:06,634 --> 01:13:08,677 Barnette's team decides to take advantage 1614 01:13:08,802 --> 01:13:12,681 of the calm before the storm and go for it. 1615 01:13:12,806 --> 01:13:15,434 ♪ ♪ 1616 01:13:15,559 --> 01:13:17,853 As the divers descend, 1617 01:13:17,937 --> 01:13:22,358 Captain Jeff Marinko closely watches the surface. 1618 01:13:22,483 --> 01:13:24,652 ‐ With typical scuba diving, 1619 01:13:24,777 --> 01:13:26,403 there's actually bubbles coming up 1620 01:13:26,528 --> 01:13:29,198 that we would follow. 1621 01:13:29,365 --> 01:13:31,033 However, when they're doing closed‐circuit rebreathers, 1622 01:13:31,158 --> 01:13:32,826 there's no bubbles to follow. 1623 01:13:32,910 --> 01:13:35,704 So basically, I just have a timer running, 1624 01:13:35,829 --> 01:13:40,042 an approximate bottom time that they're trying to do. 1625 01:13:40,125 --> 01:13:41,961 Fishburne: The team has only about 30 minutes 1626 01:13:42,044 --> 01:13:46,173 on the seafloor. 1627 01:13:46,256 --> 01:13:50,219 But to Jeff's surprise, they resurface way too early. 1628 01:13:50,344 --> 01:13:52,346 ♪ ♪ 1629 01:13:52,429 --> 01:13:55,057 Something has gone wrong. 1630 01:13:55,182 --> 01:13:57,351 ♪ ♪ 1631 01:13:57,518 --> 01:13:59,561 ‐ The tide on the bottom is running really hard. 1632 01:13:59,687 --> 01:14:00,646 The storm has really stirred things up. 1633 01:14:00,729 --> 01:14:02,940 It's really green water. 1634 01:14:03,065 --> 01:14:04,692 Yeah, so the hook had pulled out, 1635 01:14:04,817 --> 01:14:06,193 and no sign of the wreck on the bottom. 1636 01:14:06,276 --> 01:14:08,988 So we had to abort the dive 1637 01:14:09,071 --> 01:14:10,864 and come up and try for another run at it. 1638 01:14:11,031 --> 01:14:12,950 ♪ ♪ 1639 01:14:13,075 --> 01:14:14,410 Fishburne: A whipping bottom current 1640 01:14:14,535 --> 01:14:16,036 ripped out the line 1641 01:14:16,120 --> 01:14:18,372 securing the boat to the dive target, 1642 01:14:18,497 --> 01:14:21,333 and they missed the wreck. 1643 01:14:21,417 --> 01:14:23,836 ♪ ♪ 1644 01:14:23,919 --> 01:14:26,505 With their weather window closing fast, 1645 01:14:26,672 --> 01:14:29,800 the team can't afford another miss. 1646 01:14:29,925 --> 01:14:31,510 ‐ Just makes things a little tougher, 1647 01:14:31,593 --> 01:14:34,680 but that's been the theme of this, hasn't it? 1648 01:14:34,805 --> 01:14:37,349 It's just been one hurdle after another. 1649 01:14:37,474 --> 01:14:40,019 First COVID, now there's hurricanes. 1650 01:14:40,185 --> 01:14:42,521 It just doesn't stop. 1651 01:14:42,604 --> 01:14:45,691 ‐ All right, we'll try this again. 1652 01:14:45,816 --> 01:14:48,986 ♪ ♪ 1653 01:14:53,323 --> 01:14:56,368 Fishburne: This time, everywhere Barnette looks: 1654 01:14:56,452 --> 01:14:59,121 fish. 1655 01:14:59,246 --> 01:15:01,040 A sure sign he's close. 1656 01:15:01,165 --> 01:15:04,376 ‐ That's them. They're on it for sure. 1657 01:15:04,543 --> 01:15:06,962 So this is good. 1658 01:15:07,046 --> 01:15:09,590 ♪ ♪ 1659 01:15:09,715 --> 01:15:15,179 Fishburne: Below, the wreck comes into view. 1660 01:15:15,304 --> 01:15:17,556 But what is it from? 1661 01:15:17,723 --> 01:15:19,725 ‐ One of the first things we see is, 1662 01:15:19,892 --> 01:15:21,643 there's this big chunk of debris metal 1663 01:15:21,727 --> 01:15:23,729 that could have been from anything. 1664 01:15:23,854 --> 01:15:25,564 It could have been garbage pitched off a ship. 1665 01:15:25,689 --> 01:15:27,983 It didn't really speak to me of an airplane. 1666 01:15:28,067 --> 01:15:32,488 ♪ ♪ 1667 01:15:32,613 --> 01:15:34,656 And the next thing we come across 1668 01:15:34,740 --> 01:15:38,994 is a large section of flat metal with rivets. 1669 01:15:39,078 --> 01:15:40,704 Looking through a rust hole in the top, 1670 01:15:40,829 --> 01:15:42,998 I saw what appeared to be black rubber. 1671 01:15:43,082 --> 01:15:45,918 I'm saying to myself, "Maybe this is a tire." 1672 01:15:46,043 --> 01:15:49,171 ♪ ♪ 1673 01:15:49,254 --> 01:15:52,132 Time is our enemy right now. The clock is ticking. 1674 01:15:52,216 --> 01:15:55,344 We got to find something to reveal what we're diving on. 1675 01:15:55,469 --> 01:15:57,429 ♪ ♪ 1676 01:15:57,554 --> 01:16:00,682 Then, boom. 1677 01:16:00,808 --> 01:16:02,392 Right there, staring us in the face: 1678 01:16:02,559 --> 01:16:05,354 a large propeller. 1679 01:16:05,437 --> 01:16:10,526 ♪ ♪ 1680 01:16:10,651 --> 01:16:12,861 And right next to it was the engine. 1681 01:16:12,986 --> 01:16:15,948 ♪ ♪ 1682 01:16:16,073 --> 01:16:19,368 We are excited. We are stoked. 1683 01:16:19,493 --> 01:16:20,994 We know we have an aircraft. 1684 01:16:21,120 --> 01:16:23,539 We have a World War II vintage aircraft. 1685 01:16:23,664 --> 01:16:29,545 ♪ ♪ 1686 01:16:29,670 --> 01:16:31,338 But now we want to find proof positive 1687 01:16:31,463 --> 01:16:33,048 of what this aircraft is. 1688 01:16:33,215 --> 01:16:35,217 We want to find that smoking gun. 1689 01:16:35,342 --> 01:16:37,678 ♪ ♪ 1690 01:16:37,845 --> 01:16:39,304 And then we move on a little bit farther 1691 01:16:39,388 --> 01:16:42,141 and we see this round piece of wreckage with, 1692 01:16:42,266 --> 01:16:45,144 in the middle of it, teeth, like for gears. 1693 01:16:45,269 --> 01:16:48,564 I'm thinking to myself, "This looks like a turret." 1694 01:16:48,689 --> 01:16:50,941 ♪ ♪ 1695 01:16:51,066 --> 01:16:53,944 Emotions are running off the chart. 1696 01:16:54,069 --> 01:16:59,241 ♪ ♪ 1697 01:16:59,366 --> 01:17:03,203 Could this be an Avenger? 1698 01:17:03,328 --> 01:17:08,375 ♪ ♪ 1699 01:17:08,500 --> 01:17:11,044 [boat horn blows] 1700 01:17:11,211 --> 01:17:13,338 Fishburne: Barnette meets up 1701 01:17:13,505 --> 01:17:14,840 with Rob Kraft and Paul Mayer 1702 01:17:14,965 --> 01:17:18,010 to share the exciting discovery. 1703 01:17:18,093 --> 01:17:20,095 ‐ We checked out some targets, and I can show you some footage. 1704 01:17:20,220 --> 01:17:21,805 We've definitely found an aircraft. 1705 01:17:21,889 --> 01:17:23,473 It's spread out pretty wide, 1706 01:17:23,599 --> 01:17:25,017 and it's been busted up pretty good. 1707 01:17:25,100 --> 01:17:28,478 ‐ Obviously this aircraft had a really bad day. 1708 01:17:28,604 --> 01:17:30,189 I mean, it's ending was catastrophic. 1709 01:17:30,314 --> 01:17:32,107 ‐ Yeah, it wasn't pushed over the side. 1710 01:17:32,232 --> 01:17:35,027 Fishburne: To find out what the mystery wreck is, 1711 01:17:35,110 --> 01:17:37,029 they're joined by Roy Stafford, 1712 01:17:37,196 --> 01:17:41,658 a former Navy pilot and World War II aircraft expert. 1713 01:17:41,783 --> 01:17:44,494 ‐ We got a three‐blade prop and this ball turret, 1714 01:17:44,578 --> 01:17:47,581 which looks to me like it's definitely a ball turret. 1715 01:17:47,748 --> 01:17:48,874 ‐ I agree. ‐ It sounds like you got 1716 01:17:48,999 --> 01:17:50,709 a lot of convincing clues there. 1717 01:17:50,876 --> 01:17:52,836 ‐ At first, I wasn't sure, 1718 01:17:52,961 --> 01:17:55,214 you know, because there's so many World War II aircraft 1719 01:17:55,339 --> 01:17:57,132 that had three‐bladed props. 1720 01:17:57,216 --> 01:18:00,928 You know, the wreckage was kind of dispersed. 1721 01:18:01,053 --> 01:18:03,013 Fishburne: One by one, 1722 01:18:03,096 --> 01:18:06,516 Roy identifies each piece. 1723 01:18:06,642 --> 01:18:10,354 The wing. 1724 01:18:10,479 --> 01:18:13,398 The propeller and double‐radial engine. 1725 01:18:13,523 --> 01:18:15,817 ♪ ♪ 1726 01:18:15,901 --> 01:18:17,819 And the gunner's turret, 1727 01:18:17,903 --> 01:18:20,280 with a pane of bulletproof glass. 1728 01:18:20,405 --> 01:18:25,118 ♪ ♪ 1729 01:18:25,244 --> 01:18:27,204 But it is the first piece of wreckage 1730 01:18:27,329 --> 01:18:32,209 that reveals what the aircraft is. 1731 01:18:32,376 --> 01:18:35,504 This structure, almost overlooked on the dive, 1732 01:18:35,629 --> 01:18:38,924 is a landing gear. 1733 01:18:39,049 --> 01:18:44,012 And the design is unique to the Avenger. 1734 01:18:44,137 --> 01:18:46,765 ♪ ♪ 1735 01:18:46,890 --> 01:18:49,184 ‐ It was a perfect match, 1736 01:18:49,351 --> 01:18:51,979 because the TBM sat real high and, you know, 1737 01:18:52,104 --> 01:18:55,649 had the torpedo bay underneath it and this, that and the other. 1738 01:18:55,732 --> 01:18:57,359 You know, you take the landing gear, 1739 01:18:57,526 --> 01:18:58,944 the bulletproof glass, 1740 01:18:59,069 --> 01:19:01,655 the serrated teeth on the gears of the turret. 1741 01:19:01,738 --> 01:19:03,865 It's all there. 1742 01:19:03,991 --> 01:19:07,577 I'm actually 100% at this point that it's a TBM. 1743 01:19:07,703 --> 01:19:09,162 ‐ Roy's looking at the footage. 1744 01:19:09,246 --> 01:19:10,539 He's pointing out multiple things and saying, 1745 01:19:10,706 --> 01:19:11,915 "Oh, there's this and this and this." 1746 01:19:12,082 --> 01:19:13,667 And we're like, "So it's an Avenger?" 1747 01:19:13,750 --> 01:19:15,168 He said, "Without a doubt, it's an Avenger." 1748 01:19:15,294 --> 01:19:16,962 And that was just exciting to know. 1749 01:19:17,087 --> 01:19:19,131 ‐ You've made some amazing discoveries here. 1750 01:19:19,214 --> 01:19:21,216 You found an Avenger, you've still got some other targets. 1751 01:19:21,341 --> 01:19:23,844 ‐ And based on what we know, Flight 19 could be in this area. 1752 01:19:23,927 --> 01:19:25,637 This could be one of them. 1753 01:19:25,721 --> 01:19:27,889 Fishburne: It's an enticing discovery. 1754 01:19:28,015 --> 01:19:30,517 A TBM Avenger torpedo bomber 1755 01:19:30,684 --> 01:19:32,978 on the edge of the Bermuda Triangle 1756 01:19:33,061 --> 01:19:37,316 where all indications are Flight 19 went missing. 1757 01:19:37,399 --> 01:19:40,319 After 75 years, 1758 01:19:40,444 --> 01:19:45,198 has Mike Barnette finally found the legendary lost squadron? 1759 01:19:52,039 --> 01:19:55,208 Fishburne: December 5th, 1945. 1760 01:19:55,292 --> 01:19:58,170 Five TBM Avenger torpedo bombers 1761 01:19:58,295 --> 01:20:01,840 and a Martin Mariner rescue plane 1762 01:20:01,965 --> 01:20:05,761 fly into the Bermuda Triangle and disappear. 1763 01:20:05,886 --> 01:20:08,680 ♪ ♪ 1764 01:20:08,805 --> 01:20:10,557 Seventy‐five years later, 1765 01:20:10,724 --> 01:20:14,853 no trace of them has ever been found. 1766 01:20:14,978 --> 01:20:19,066 That may be about to change. 1767 01:20:19,191 --> 01:20:23,070 Mike Barnette's been invited to the Washington Navy Yard 1768 01:20:23,195 --> 01:20:27,240 to share a promising discovery with Dr. Robert Neyland. 1769 01:20:27,407 --> 01:20:29,993 ‐ This first one here obviously is a three‐blade propeller. 1770 01:20:30,077 --> 01:20:32,287 Fishburne: Neyland heads underwater archaeology 1771 01:20:32,412 --> 01:20:36,500 in the Navy's History and Heritage Command. 1772 01:20:36,625 --> 01:20:39,753 He and naval underwater archaeology expert 1773 01:20:39,878 --> 01:20:43,340 Augustin Ortiz review Mike's dive. 1774 01:20:43,465 --> 01:20:46,968 ‐ So I see here you were counting the cylinders. 1775 01:20:47,052 --> 01:20:48,595 How many were you able to count there? 1776 01:20:48,720 --> 01:20:50,430 ‐ I think I saw seven. It was definitely two rows. 1777 01:20:50,555 --> 01:20:52,182 ‐ This really looks, you know, positive that this could 1778 01:20:52,307 --> 01:20:54,267 very well could be an Avenger, 1779 01:20:54,393 --> 01:20:56,353 but is it one of the Flight 19 Avengers? 1780 01:20:56,520 --> 01:20:59,022 ‐ That's the question that we need to answer. 1781 01:20:59,189 --> 01:21:01,191 ‐ To be able to actually identify it 1782 01:21:01,274 --> 01:21:03,860 to a specific one is really tough, 1783 01:21:03,985 --> 01:21:06,530 because it's broken up, it's very corroded. 1784 01:21:06,655 --> 01:21:08,740 So you're looking for something that will, 1785 01:21:08,865 --> 01:21:12,244 you know, tie it to a specific aircraft. 1786 01:21:12,369 --> 01:21:13,578 Fishburne: The one thing they know for sure 1787 01:21:13,703 --> 01:21:17,040 is where it was found. 1788 01:21:17,124 --> 01:21:20,836 Could the wreck's location match any known crashes? 1789 01:21:20,961 --> 01:21:26,383 ‐ We found the record of TBM aircraft 7‐3‐3‐7‐9 1790 01:21:26,550 --> 01:21:31,680 that crashed within the crash zone of this wreck site. 1791 01:21:31,763 --> 01:21:35,475 ♪ ♪ 1792 01:21:35,559 --> 01:21:38,603 Fishburne: The Navy's records, now declassified, 1793 01:21:38,728 --> 01:21:42,858 reveal a botched carrier landing in February 1945, 1794 01:21:42,983 --> 01:21:47,028 just three miles from Barnette's discovery. 1795 01:21:47,154 --> 01:21:50,031 Luckily, the pilot was able to escape. 1796 01:21:50,157 --> 01:21:52,742 ‐ We can't say for 100% that this is that aircraft 1797 01:21:52,868 --> 01:21:55,036 without doing more exploration 1798 01:21:55,203 --> 01:21:58,206 to see if there's some sort of marking that identifies it. 1799 01:21:58,290 --> 01:22:00,876 Fishburne: Without identifiable markings, 1800 01:22:01,001 --> 01:22:02,419 there's no way to be certain 1801 01:22:02,544 --> 01:22:06,965 this plane is tied to the carrier crash. 1802 01:22:07,090 --> 01:22:10,844 And key questions remain unanswered: 1803 01:22:11,011 --> 01:22:12,804 why is an aircraft that ditched 1804 01:22:12,888 --> 01:22:14,347 while trying to land 1805 01:22:14,431 --> 01:22:18,185 broken into scattered pieces like this? 1806 01:22:18,310 --> 01:22:22,230 And what are the other nearby plane wrecks? 1807 01:22:22,355 --> 01:22:25,233 ‐ There are other wrecks in this general area, 1808 01:22:25,358 --> 01:22:27,027 and we don't know what those wrecks are. 1809 01:22:27,194 --> 01:22:28,570 ‐ That's really exciting, and we look forward 1810 01:22:28,695 --> 01:22:30,030 to continuing to work with you, 1811 01:22:30,113 --> 01:22:31,156 and we'd be very interested 1812 01:22:31,239 --> 01:22:33,200 to see what you find next. 1813 01:22:33,325 --> 01:22:36,786 Fishburne: If the nearby wrecks are also Avengers, 1814 01:22:36,912 --> 01:22:38,455 that would strengthen the case 1815 01:22:38,580 --> 01:22:42,125 that Barnette has indeed discovered Flight 19. 1816 01:22:42,250 --> 01:22:44,169 ‐ This story with Flight 19 1817 01:22:44,294 --> 01:22:46,505 is important for the Navy to see resolved, 1818 01:22:46,630 --> 01:22:49,174 because it highlights the sacrifice and the service 1819 01:22:49,299 --> 01:22:52,469 that military personnel have done. 1820 01:22:52,552 --> 01:22:54,221 If there's other Navy aircraft out there, 1821 01:22:54,346 --> 01:22:58,183 we need to know where these are located. 1822 01:22:58,266 --> 01:23:00,143 Fishburne: With the dive season closed for the year, 1823 01:23:00,227 --> 01:23:04,856 Barnette must wait to explore the nearby targets. 1824 01:23:04,981 --> 01:23:07,901 For the moment, the Bermuda Triangle 1825 01:23:08,068 --> 01:23:11,738 still holds its grip on this mystery. 1826 01:23:11,863 --> 01:23:15,659 But the team is more determined than ever to find the planes. 1827 01:23:15,742 --> 01:23:17,327 ♪ ♪ 1828 01:23:17,452 --> 01:23:19,538 ‐ This is going be a lifelong pursuit. 1829 01:23:19,621 --> 01:23:21,248 We're not going to stop until we find the Martin Mariner 1830 01:23:21,373 --> 01:23:23,542 and hopefully Flight 19. 1831 01:23:23,625 --> 01:23:26,169 Fishburne: If the Avengers crashed in shallow water, 1832 01:23:26,253 --> 01:23:28,922 Mike Barnette is convinced he can find them all. 1833 01:23:29,047 --> 01:23:33,802 And the investigation still cannot rule out the possibility 1834 01:23:33,885 --> 01:23:36,012 some of them made it back to land. 1835 01:23:36,137 --> 01:23:38,807 ‐ We've been able to check off some of the boxes. 1836 01:23:38,890 --> 01:23:40,183 There's a lot of them here 1837 01:23:40,350 --> 01:23:42,060 and there's still more to check, 1838 01:23:42,185 --> 01:23:44,020 but we've been able to get rid of some of them. 1839 01:23:44,145 --> 01:23:46,356 Fishburne: Wayne Abbott and David O'Keefe 1840 01:23:46,523 --> 01:23:48,858 believe the archives still hold secrets. 1841 01:23:48,942 --> 01:23:51,820 ‐ Just when we think we're answering one question, 1842 01:23:51,945 --> 01:23:53,238 a whole bunch of others pop up. 1843 01:23:53,405 --> 01:23:56,324 But that's the mystery of Flight 19. 1844 01:23:56,408 --> 01:23:58,660 Fishburne: And Rob Kraft was only able 1845 01:23:58,743 --> 01:24:01,913 to map out a fraction of his primary search area. 1846 01:24:02,038 --> 01:24:04,541 ‐ We spent a lot of time and effort 1847 01:24:04,624 --> 01:24:05,917 to make sure that we were doing the right thing, 1848 01:24:06,084 --> 01:24:07,669 and I think we were. 1849 01:24:07,794 --> 01:24:10,213 Fishburne: If the planes are in deep water, 1850 01:24:10,380 --> 01:24:12,299 Kraft is sure he can find them. 1851 01:24:12,424 --> 01:24:15,552 ‐ We need to go back and resume the search where we were before. 1852 01:24:15,677 --> 01:24:17,345 ‐ Despite the challenges, 1853 01:24:17,429 --> 01:24:19,347 the team believes they've come closer 1854 01:24:19,431 --> 01:24:23,226 to finding Flight 19 than anyone else. 1855 01:24:23,393 --> 01:24:25,353 And it's just a matter of time 1856 01:24:25,520 --> 01:24:27,522 before the mystery is solved. 1857 01:24:27,647 --> 01:24:32,319 Officially, Flight 19 is still out there. 1858 01:24:32,402 --> 01:24:35,780 But the net could be closing fast. 1859 01:24:35,905 --> 01:24:37,741 I'm Laurence Fishburne. 1860 01:24:37,866 --> 01:24:42,579 Thank you for watching "History's Greatest Mysteries." 1861 01:24:42,704 --> 01:24:45,790 ♪ ♪