The mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines' Boeing 777 on March 8 this year is still a mystery to the intelligence services of a dozen countries involved in the search. Meanwhile, history knows many cases when airplanes disappeared from radar screens and the further development of events is comparable only to the plot of a fantastic film.
In today's selection we offer Top 5 most mysterious plane crashes in history... Some of them, years later, formed the basis of screenplays and autobiographies.
5. The disappearance of Amelia Earhart
Amelia was the first female pilot to fly across the Atlantic. In 1973, Earhart was preparing to travel around the world in a light twin-engined aircraft Lockheed Electra. However, in the center of the Pacific Ocean, the car went missing. There were many versions of Amelia's disappearance - from abduction by aliens to capture by the Japanese military. However, the mystery of Earhart's disaster remained unsolved.
4. The disappearance of American bombers
This mysterious story took place in 1945 in the infamous Bermuda Triangle. US Navy bombers disappeared from radar in calm seas and clear weather. There were rumors in the press that in the negotiations of the pilots it was about that the ocean looked extremely unusual. Not a single wreckage from the 5 missing aircraft was ever found.
3. Capturing the liner D. B. Cooper
In November 1971, a passenger named Cooper hijacked a liner heading from Portland. The hijacker demanded $ 200,000 and several parachutes. Cooper allowed the plane to land in Seattle for refueling, where money and parachutes were transferred on board. A couple of minutes after takeoff, the hijacker opened the tail door and silently jumped out of the plane. The FBI was unable to find him or the bag of money. Five years later, dirty banknotes worth $ 6,000 were found on the banks of the Columbia River with serial numbers that matched those given to Cooper.
2. The crash of flight number 800
In 1996, the Trans World Airlines liner operated on the popular New York - Rome route. A couple of minutes after takeoff, the plane exploded in the air, killing 230 people. Among the versions, the seizure by terrorists was discussed, but no one took responsibility for the disaster. According to another version, the plane was shot down by a missile from a US Navy ship. However, according to the official version, the cause of the accident was a short circuit.
1. Disaster in Uruguay
In 1972, a plane carrying 45 people suddenly disappeared from radar while flying over the Andes. For 72 days, the fate of the ship remained unclear. However, then 16 surviving passengers were found who managed to survive in the icy highlands, only feeding on the bodies of the dead. The story formed the basis of the film "Alive".