Star Tiger (registration G-AHNP) was a passenger plane made by Avro Tudor. It was owned and used by British South American Airways (BSAA). The plane vanished without a trace over the Atlantic Ocean during a flight from Santa Maria in the Azores to Bermuda on the morning of January 30, 1948. The disappearance of Star Tiger, along with the loss of another BSAA Avro Tudor plane called Star Ariel in 1949, has never been explained. These events contributed to the development of the Bermuda Triangle legend.
Background
British South American Airways (BSAA) was an airline started by former World War II pilots. They wanted to provide service on trade and passenger routes in South America that were not used before. It was first called British Latin American Air Lines (BLAIR). It became its own company from the British Overseas Airways Corporation to operate its South Atlantic routes. In March 1946, BSAA began flying across the Atlantic Ocean. The first flight used a BSAA Avro Lancastrian plane that left from London's Heathrow Airport. The airline used mostly Avro planes, including Yorks, Lancastrians, and Tudors. It flew to Bermuda, the West Indies, and the western coast of South America.
Flight
Star Tiger was one of three improved versions of the Avro Tudor, called the Tudor IV. It had completed 11 transatlantic flights, totaling 575 hours of flying time, since its first test flight on November 4, 1947.
On the morning of January 28, 1948, the crew and passengers boarded Star Tiger in Lisbon. However, the pilot, Captain Brian W. McMillan, said the port inner engine needed repairs, so the group had to return to the airport waiting room. The aircraft took off 2 and a half hours later and was scheduled to make a 75-minute refueling stop at Santa Maria in the Azores. Due to poor weather, Captain McMillan decided to delay the stop until the next day.
Among the passengers, 16 were British, 2 were Mexican, 2 were Czech, 1 was Swiss, and 4 had no nationality listed. Of these, 7 were traveling to Bermuda, 12 to Kingston, Jamaica, and 6 to Havana, Cuba.
The next day, January 29, Star Tiger took off for Bermuda despite strong winds. Captain McMillan chose to fly at no more than 2,000 feet (610 meters) to avoid the worst winds. An Avro Lancastrian, operated by BSAA and piloted by Frank Griffin, took off an hour earlier than Star Tiger. Griffin had agreed to report weather conditions back to Star Tiger.
Star Tiger departed at 3:34 p.m. and soon faced heavy rain and strong winds. Initially, it was about 200 miles (320 kilometers) behind the Lancastrian, but Captain McMillan gradually closed the distance. Both aircraft remained in radio contact with each other and with Bermuda. The second pilot on Star Tiger was David Colby DFC, a highly experienced pilot and former RAF Pathfinder Force squadron leader.
By 1:26 a.m. on January 30, after 10 hours in the air, Star Tiger was only 150 miles (240 kilometers) behind the Lancastrian. The Lancastrian’s navigator used celestial navigation to determine their position and found that the winds had pushed the aircraft 60 miles (100 kilometers) off course in the previous hour. At this point, Star Tiger had passed its Point of No Alternative, meaning it could no longer divert to Newfoundland and was committed to continuing toward Bermuda.
Around 2:00 a.m., Cyril Ellison, Star Tiger’s navigator, determined the aircraft’s position and discovered they had also been blown off course, moving away from Bermuda. He provided McMillan with a new course that directed the aircraft directly into a strong wind. However, McMillan still believed they would have at least an hour of fuel remaining upon landing in Bermuda.
A merchant ship, the SS Troubadour, reported seeing a low-flying aircraft with blinking lights about halfway between Bermuda and the entrance to Delaware Bay. If this aircraft was Star Tiger, it had gone far off course. This sighting occurred around 2:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.
At 3:00 a.m., Captain Griffin aboard the Lancastrian updated his estimated time of arrival to 5:00 a.m. and contacted Star Tiger to switch to voice telephony for communication with Bermuda Approach Control. Griffin later stated that he heard no indication from Star Tiger that it was in trouble. From that time until he landed at 4:11 a.m., Griffin’s aircraft encountered no turbulence, icing, fog, or electrical storms.
Loss
At 03:04, Radio Officer Robert Tuck on board Star Tiger asked Bermuda for a radio bearing, but the signal was too weak for an accurate reading. Tuck asked again 11 minutes later, and this time the Bermuda radio operator received a bearing of 72 degrees, accurate within 2 degrees. The operator sent this information, and Tuck confirmed he received it at 03:17. This was the final communication from the aircraft.
At 03:50, the Bermuda operator tried to contact Star Tiger but received no response. He assumed the plane had switched to direct radio contact with Bermuda Approach Control. However, Approach Control said this was not true. The Bermuda operator tried again at 04:05 but still could not reach Star Tiger. After another attempt at 04:40, he declared a state of emergency.
No distress message was heard by the Bermuda operator or anyone else, even though many stations were listening on Star Tiger’s frequency.
On 30 January 1948, a news report stated the plane was lost 440 miles (710 km) northeast of Bermuda.
Search
The U.S. Air Force personnel managing the airfield quickly began a rescue operation that continued for five days even as weather conditions worsened. Twenty-six planes flew a total of 882 hours, and boats and ships also searched for the missing plane, but no evidence of Star Tiger or her 31 passengers and crew was ever discovered. On February 1, 1948, a B-17 search plane reported seeing several boxes and an oil drum 325 miles (523 km) northwest of Bermuda; it is not known if these items were related to the missing plane.
Investigation
After it was discovered that the Star Tiger had been lost, Britain's Minister of Civil Aviation ordered the remaining Avro Tudor aircraft operated by BSAA to stop flying. These planes were later allowed to carry cargo instead of passengers, but they had to travel a longer route from Santa Maria to Bermuda via Newfoundland. This change shortened the longest part of the flight over water by 250 miles (400 kilometers).
Although Sir Roy Dobson, Avro's managing director, and Don Bennett of BSAA both denied that the aircraft had any faults, the minister decided a legal investigation, called a "Court of Investigation," was needed. This was the first such inquiry since the 1930 loss of the airship R101. Bennett strongly opposed the investigation, and as a result, BSAA removed him from his position.
Lord Macmillan led the investigation, with help from a professor of aviation from the University of London and the chief pilot of British European Airways. Professor Arnold Hall from the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) also participated. Other individuals involved included Quentin Hogg QC, John Donaldson QC, and Joseph Orrell.
The investigation took place publicly at Church House, Westminster, and began on April 12, 1948. It lasted 11 days and concluded on August 21, when the report was presented to Lord Pakenham, who had replaced Lord Nathan of Churt as Minister of Civil Aviation. The report noted that the Star Tiger's crew had significant experience but found that the flight plan showed a lack of careful attention to detail. However, no serious issues were identified that could explain the accident.
Among those on board was Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, a World War II hero who had led the 2nd Tactical Air Force during the Battle of Normandy. His death was reported in The New York Times on January 31, 1948, alongside news about the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and the death of Orville Wright.
If the Star Tiger's radio had failed shortly after 03:15, the captain and navigator would have had to locate a small group of islands 22 miles (35 kilometers) long and 20 square miles (52 square kilometers) in area. These islands had bright lights visible from about 30 miles (50 kilometers) away at the plane's estimated altitude. At that time, the Star Tiger was approximately 340 miles (550 kilometers) from the islands and had enough fuel for 3.5 hours of flight. However, flying through a gale storm could have caused stronger winds than expected, using fuel more quickly than the crew realized. Even with an accurate bearing, the pilot, McMillan, faced the challenge of no nearby airport. The nearest mainland point in the United States, Cape Hatteras, was 580 miles (930 kilometers) to the west, far beyond the plane's range. There was no evidence that radio failure or navigation errors caused the disaster.
Regarding engine failure, the plane could have reached Bermuda using only two engines. However, flying at a low altitude would have made any handling issues more dangerous. The Star Tiger and Lancastrian had flown much lower than usual, and no previous BSAA flight had done so for such a long time. Wind forecasts were unreliable, especially for lower altitudes, which could have caused sudden gusts that might have caused the plane to crash into the sea. Inattention by the crew or a faulty altimeter could also have led to the plane descending gently into the water, leaving no time for a distress signal. A notable issue was that although the planned cruising altitude was 2,000 feet, all position reports from the Star Tiger stated the height as 20,000 feet (6,100 meters). Since 20,000 feet was a more common altitude for this route, it is possible the crew forgot they were flying at only 2,000 feet and accidentally flew the plane into the sea during descent. Crew fatigue and the possibility of altimeter errors, which were common at the time, may have contributed to this mistake. The plane was also equipped with a radio altimeter.
Previously, the Star Tiger had been forced to divert to Gander, Newfoundland, twice on similar flights. Just two months before the disaster, another Tudor IV had landed with less than 100 imperial gallons (450 liters; 120 U.S. gallons) of fuel remaining, which was less than the amount by which the Star Tiger was overloaded.
Aftermath
During the investigation, Bennett stated that both the Star Tiger and Star Ariel had been damaged on purpose. He also said that the Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, had ordered all investigations into the incidents to be stopped.
A more recent idea from 2009 suggests that the loss of fuel might have played a role in the plane's disappearance. Additionally, the fuel valves for the reserve tanks were located in the passenger area. If these valves were not already open, one crew member would need to go to the back of the plane to switch to the reserve fuel. However, there may not have been enough time to do this because of the high altitude they were flying at.