The Bermuda Triangle - Beneath the Waves (BBC)

Woven around a compelling expedition narrative, this programme conducts a series of experiments to prove conclusively whether the most credible theories do in fact weigh up. The stories behind some of the most baffling of disappearances are told but it is science, not speculation, that writes the final chapter. Following the story of the search for Navy Flight 19, one of the most famous disappearances, photography both above and beneath the waves is combined with dramatic re-constructions and CGI to create a stunning visual feast. Five experiments tried to explore the most plausible theories.
Water spouts are tornados at sea and are very common in the Triangle. They are whirling vortexes of water that form into fast spinning tubes several meters wide and up to three quarters of a mile high. Potentially lethal if a boat or a plane comes into direct contact with one.

The Bermuda Triangle is also one of the only places in the world where true north and magnetic north are aligned. If you didn’t know about the triangle’s unique magnetic effect and failed to make the correct compensations, you could end up very lost indeed.

Another possible one will be the killer wave. There have been eyewitness reports of 70 metre high waves that seemingly come out of nowhere. Often dismissed as impossible, the programme seeks to prove that these ‘monsters’ do exist and display the lethal destruction that they could cause.

Around the area, there are also freak storms storms out there that are so quick yet so powerful that weather satellites very rarely pick them up. An intense localised storm can have the punch of a hurricane contained within the area of a football pitch. From the outside the little storm would look like an intense shower but from the inside the wind speed and the intensity of the down-pour would be incrediblely dangerous. A small boat or light aircraft wouldn’t stand a chance.

Lastly, eruptions of gas hydrate pockets caused by seismic activity on the sea floor could also be responsible for the disappearance of boats and even planes.

We may never know the real answer anytime soon, but those are the most plausible theories proposed so far, and this excellent documentary sought to examine all of them.

Watch the full documentary here