Star Ariel (registration G-AGRE) was an Avro Tudor passenger plane owned and flown by British South American Airways (BSAA). It vanished without a trace over the Atlantic Ocean during a flight from Bermuda to Kingston, Jamaica, on January 17, 1949. The disappearance of this aircraft, along with the loss of the BSAA Avro Tudor Star Tiger in January 1948, has not been solved. The mystery surrounding these events contributed to the development of the Bermuda Triangle legend.

Background

British South American Airways (BSAA) was an airline started by pilots who served in World War II. The airline aimed to provide travel and trade services on routes in South America that had not been used before. It was first called British Latin American Air Lines (BLAIR) and was separated from the British Overseas Airways Corporation (now known as British Airways) to handle flights across the South Atlantic. BSAA began flying across the Atlantic in March 1946, with its first flight departing from London’s Heathrow Airport. The airline used many planes made by Avro, including the York, Lancastrian, and Tudor models. Its travel destinations included Bermuda, the West Indies, and the western coast of South America.

Flight

The Star Ariel was one of three larger and better models of the Avro Tudor, called Mark IVs. On 17 January 1949, the Star Ariel was waiting for flight instructions at Kindley Field, Bermuda, with no passengers on board. At the same time, the BSAA Tudor G-AHNK Star Lion had an engine failure while landing near Bermuda but landed safely. The Star Ariel was quickly used to transport G-AHNK’s passengers to their destination, Kingston, Jamaica.

The Star Ariel took off at 08:41 with seven crew members and thirteen passengers. Weather conditions were very good, and the pilot in charge, Captain John Clutha McPhee (who previously served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force), chose to fly at a high altitude to use the favorable conditions. About one hour into the flight, McPhee contacted Kingston by radio:

Search

The search for the Star Ariel began with a Tudor IV aircraft, G-AHNJ Star Panther. This plane had previously landed at Nassau. After refueling, it took off at 15:25 to fly toward Star Ariel’s path, split it in the middle, and follow it back to Bermuda. Another plane took off from Bermuda, flew 500 miles (800 kilometers), and then searched in a pattern for 10 miles (16 kilometers) as it returned. A US Navy group led by the battleship USS Missouri, along with the aircraft carriers USS Kearsarge and USS Leyte, helped in the search. Over the next few days, the search expanded to include many more ships and planes.

By January 19, the search area was widened to cover 55,000 square miles (140,000 square kilometers) southwest of Bermuda. USAF Major Keith Cloe, who was in charge, said the search would continue until January 22 and might be extended if any debris was reported. The search ended on January 23, with planes from Kindley Field having flown over 1,000,000 miles (1,600,000 kilometers). No debris, oil slicks, or wreckage were found during the search.

Investigation

A representative of the Chief Inspector of Accidents traveled to Bermuda on January 18, 1949.

It was found that there had been no bad weather, and none of the weather reports showed any unusual conditions. The chance of strong turbulence in clear air was nearly nonexistent. There were no clouds above 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) along the entire flight path of the aircraft.

However, despite the good weather, the day had communication issues, including static noise, poor reception, and complete signal loss lasting up to 10 minutes. These problems occurred intermittently and affected certain planes calling certain stations from different directions. The communication issues lasted almost the entire time the Star Ariel would have been in flight, ending around 1:07 PM.

This was examined, along with McPhee’s early switch to the Kingston radio frequency, as he was still near Bermuda at that time. It was possible that a distress message on that frequency might not have been heard because the aircraft was far from Kingston.

However, a BSAA representative in Kingston noted:

On December 21, 1949, the inquiry report was released by the Chief Inspector of Accidents, Air Commodore Vernon Brown, CB, OBE, MA, FRAeS. In it, he stated that "the cause of the accident is unknown due to the lack of evidence, as no wreckage was found."

Brown noted there was no evidence of a defect or failure in any part of the aircraft before its departure from Bermuda. The total weight and balance of the aircraft were within allowed limits; a daily inspection had been completed; the pilot was experienced on the route; the radio officer was highly experienced and also familiar with the route; good radio communication was maintained with the aircraft up to and including its last message; there were no weather-related complications, and a review of weather reports found no reason to believe the accident was caused by weather conditions. There was also no evidence of sabotage, though Brown said the possibility of sabotage could not be completely ruled out.

It was acknowledged that radio communication was poor during the early afternoon and worsened between 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM. However, Brown noted it was strange that BSAA staff in Kingston did not try to determine whether anything had been heard from the aircraft until 2 hours and 28 minutes after its last radio transmission. Kingston also did not attempt to contact the aircraft until 5:10 PM or check if it had reached Nassau, New York, or any other radio station.

Aftermath

Because of the loss, BSAA took all five remaining Tudor IV aircraft out of service until each was examined. The company had trouble keeping its services running because it was hard to find planes with enough range, and it thought about renting Avro Lancastrians.

Don Bennett, who was fired by BSAA in 1948 after he disagreed with a legal investigation into the loss of the Star Tiger, later said that both the Star Tiger and Star Ariel were sabotaged. He claimed that a person known to be involved in wartime sabotage was seen near the Star Tiger before its final flight. He also said that Prime Minister Clement Attlee ordered all investigations into the incidents to stop.

The Tudor IV planes were changed to carry cargo, but Bennett had two of them restored for passenger travel. One of these planes, G-AKBY Star Girl, crashed near Cardiff in March 1950, killing 80 people. At the time, this was the worst air accident in Britain. An investigation found that incorrect loading of the plane caused the crash.

A theory from 2009 suggested that the poor design of the Tudor IVB’s cabin heater might have contributed to the plane’s loss. Former BSAA pilots Don Mackintosh and Peter Duffey said the heater, located under the cockpit floor, was placed near hydraulic pipes. This could have allowed hydraulic vapor to leak and touch the hot heater, causing a fire or explosion. Eric Newton, an air accident investigator who studied the Star Ariel case, said such an event could have become extremely dangerous quickly: "If the heater caught fire below the floor, it could have grown to a catastrophic state before the crew noticed. There was no automatic fire extinguisher or alarm system for the heater, so no one might have known until it was too late."