The Disappearance of Flight 19

December 5th, 1945, at about 2:10 pm, Flight 19 took off from the Naval Station at Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They were to do a bomb training mission and then return home. They never did return. Flight 19 was made up of five TBM Avenger Torpedo Bombers. They carried a crew of 14 men.

The weather conditions that day were considered average. There were a few showers in the area but, nothing the crew shouldn’t be able to handle. At about 4 pm, a message was received by radio from the leader of the group. The instructor first gave an indication that the flight was lost. Attempts to regain contact failed.

The next day a PBM Flying Boat also disappeared. However, wreckage from it was found. It had evident ally exploded in mid-air. All 13 crewmen on board were never seen again. This disaster added fuel to the disappearance of Flight 19. Through the years, the disappearance of Flight 19 has had a lot of different reasons formulated for it’s disappearance. Everything from the “Bermuda Triangle, UFO’s, Water Spouts, Lightning, and even Atlantis has been cited.

However, one major factor that doesn’t get much discussion is that of human error. The military uses a strict law of order called, “Chain of Command.” One individual is put in charge to make decisions and all follow those orders unless the leader asks to be relieved. That is what happened in this case. The flight commander, unable to locate the Florida peninsula, finally gave way to another pilot. The problem was that it was too late. It is assumed that they ran out of fuel and ditched into rough water never to be seen or heard from again.

In 1991, a salvage operator, Graham Hawkes, using a sea camera located the remains of five TBM Avengers. None of them were related to Flight 19. All had been lost on different missions over time. One has to wonder why the five were located in the same area.

At a Naval Investigation, it was determined that there were many factors that lead to the tragedy of Flight 19. Mostly relating to “human error.” Gian J. Quasar wrote a book called “They Flew into Oblivion.” In his book, Quasar claims that the flight made it back to land before they disappeared. He speculates that they ran out of fuel and crashed into the Everglades that are filled with about 15,000 Alligators. In his investigation, the Air Traffic Control at Fort Lauderdale had a confirmed five unidentified aircraft together over the Everglades. He believes that there was a cover up of poor judgment, incompetence, and criminal neglect. He even goes on to say that a family member received an enigmatic telegram from a pilot at the Naval Hospital before he died. The Navy would not confirm it.

The Navy also denies that Lt. Taylor the flight Commander gave over his flight leadership to Capt. Ed Powers. They also deny that Flight 19 eventually turned West. They believe that continued East out into the Atlantic.

Until the planes are found, nobody will ever know the truth. There will always be speculation that they were the victims of the Triangle. If their planes are found at sea, this will probably confirm that theory. However, if they are found in the Everglades, and I don’t believe anyone will go in there looking for them, then a Naval cover up will be unleashed. All of this is speculation because they may never be found.

Regardless one thing is for sure. On that afternoon in 1945, they were confused, disoriented, afraid, reported foul equipment, and low on fuel. These were the major ingredients for disaster.