The biggest mysteries in aviation history: Five planes that vanished without a trace

Now that the search for missing Flight MH370 has officially ended, it joins a list of other puzzling and mysterious aviation incidents.

The Malaysian Airlines jet disappeared on 8 March 2014 and while numerous theories have been put forward to explain exactly what happened to it, the world is none the wiser.

But this is not the first time experts have been left stumped – throughout the history of flight there have been other instances of vanishing planes that simply cannot be explained.

Here are some of the most mysterious…

Amelia Earhart

Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean but she and her plane – a Lockheed Model 10 Electra – disappeared somewhere over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 as she attempted to circumnavigate the globe. A multi-million pound search soon began to find Earhart but she was officially declared dead in 1939. There have been numerous theories touted to explain what happened – ranging from the plane crashing and sinking to the bottom of the ocean to being captured and executed by Japanese forces. One theory also claims Earhart survived the flight and assumed a new identity upon her return to America.

Flying Tiger Line Flight 739

Still to this day, the vanishing of the Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 remains a complete mystery. The Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation propliner was chartered by the US military in 1939 to carry more than 90 soldiers from California to Saigon. However, after a stop at Guam, the plane took off again – but never arrived at its destination. The pilot issued no distress call during the flight and the plane was never seen again. Flying Tiger Lines said the plane may have been sabotaged and the crew kidnapped but there is no evidence to support that theory. Despite the crew of a Liberian tanker claiming to have seen an “intensely luminous” light in the sky, which some believe was an explosion, the disappearance remains a mystery.

Varig Flight 967

On 30 January 1979, Varig Brazilian Airlines Flight 967 took off from Narita International Airport in Tokyo to head to Brazil. Just 30 minutes later it completely disappeared – and has never been found. What is interesting about this flight is that the plane contained 153 paintings that were called at over £700,000, leading some to believe that the plane’s disappearance may have been the result of a mid-air heist gone wrong. Nevertheless, no one knows exactly what happened to the plane, crew – or cargo.

Boeing 727-223

On 25 May 2003, two men – American pilot and flight engineer Ben Charles Padilla and John Mikel Mutantu, a hired mechanic from the Republic of the Congo – boarded a Boeing 727-233, registered N844AA and took off from Quatro de Fevereiro Airport in Luanda, Angola without clearance. The two men – who were not qualified to fly the plane – flew over the Atlantic ocean, refusing to communicate with the control tower. Neither the plane or the men have ever been seen since. Despite an investigation by the CIA and FBI, the whole incident remains a complete mystery although Padilla’s sister believes the plane crashed somewhere in Africa and her brother may be being held against his will.

Airborne Transport DC-3 (DST)

On 28 December 1948, a Douglas DST airliner, registered NC16002, disappeared as it made its way to Miami, Florida, with 32 people on board. During the flight wind changes were attempted to be communicated to the plane but no contact was able to be made and it disappeared without a trace before it landed. What makes the disappearance notable is that the wind changes could have seen the plane drift into the so-called Bermuda Triangle – an area of the Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and ships have vanished without a trace, making it a hotspot for conspiracy theories that include paranormal an extraterrestrial activity.

Top pic: PA