We’ve heard all of many strange disappearances of people from planes and ships. But sometimes, whole planes and ships disappear in mysterious ways as well. Sometimes, they’re found in just days, but others are never found at all.
When you’re finally embarking on that long-awaited and much-needed vacation, you might wish you never had to come back. Be careful what you wish for. Here is a list of ten passenger transports that mysteriously vanished.
8 Stardust
Photo credit: San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives
In 1947, the British South American Airways plane Stardust mysteriously disappeared on its trip over the Andes Mountains. In the moments before it vanished, the pilot sent out a Morse code message that read “STENDEC.” The disappearance of the plane along with this strange message had the public so confused that some believed a UFO abduction had occurred. Fifty-three years after the disappearance of Stardust, the public actually found out what happened to the plane.
On a remote peak within the Andes, climbers found pieces of Stardust and the remains of a few passengers who were on the flight. Researchers think the plane crash may have been responsible for an avalanche on the mountain peak. This avalanche buried the plane in snow, which made it even harder for it to be detected.[3]
7 The SY Aurora
Photo credit: Frank Hurley
The story of the SY Aurora is one that shows the true power of the ship, but it ends in tragedy. The Aurora was a steam yacht. It was initially built for whaling, but it ended up traveling to Antarctica five times for different expeditions. This ship proved itself by traversing harsh weather conditions each time.[4] It seemed that nothing could bring the vessel down.
In 1917, the Aurora disappeared while traveling to Chile carrying a cargo load of coal. The ship was never seen again, and it is believed to have fallen victim to World War I. After proving itself again and again in some of the roughest weather conditions, this ship still did not survive, and we may never know the true reason why.
6 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
Photo credit: Pedro Escobal
Not only did Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 go down, but what the surviving passengers had to endure before being rescued is something out of a nightmare. In 1972, this flight was headed to Chile carrying 45 passengers and crew. The flight disappeared over the Andes Mountains on its journey. The crash killed some of the passengers, and the rest were left to try to survive in the harsh conditions for 72 days.
It is hard to imagine how scared and helpless these survivors must have been, but to make matters worse, a avalanche killed eight more of them. With all of this devastation and lack of resources, the remaining survivors had to resort to cannibalism to survive. Only 16 passengers ultimately survived through all of these horrific circumstances.[5]
5 The USS Capelin
Photo credit: Lieutenant Commander Charles Jacobs, USNR
This next entry was actually a submarine. The USS Capelin was in service during World War II. On the ship’s first war patrol, it sank a Japanese cargo ship. The sub then went to Darwin, Australia, for some repairs and set off again for its second war patrol. After the Capelin left, it was never seen again.
It is known that there were minefields along the vessel’s route. This is believed to have been the cause of the disappearance of the Capelin. Since no trace of the sub was ever found, however, mines have not been proven to be the definite cause. There were 76 Navy men aboard when the Capelinvanished.[6] As technology advances, we may one day be able to find a trace of the sub, but for now, this is still a mystery that has yet to be solved.
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