The legend about the Bermuda Triangle began soon after five Navy planes [Flight 19] vanished on a training mission during a severe storm in 1945. The planes were thought to have been discovered by divers not far off the Atlantic coast, but a check of the tail numbers and serial numbers determined these were different planes . The most logical theory is that the lead pilot's instruments failed (the trainees' planes were not equipped with working navigational instruments) and the group got disoriented and simply, though tragically, ran out of fuel not far from land. No mysterious forces were likely to have been involved other than the mysterious forces of nature. The planes from Flight 19 may be sunk in deep waters and may never be found.
Though the media has published many uncritical accounts of the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle, no one has done more to create the myth of the mysterious force in the Bermuda Triangle than Charles Berlitz. One of his major critics is Larry Kushe who claims that "If Berlitz were to report that a boat were red, the chance of it being some other color is almost a certainty." After examining the 400+ page official report of the Navy Board of Investigation of the disappearance of the Navy planes in 1945, Kushe found that the Board wasn't baffled at all by the incident and made no mention of alleged radio transmissions cited by Berlitz in his book. According to Kushe, what isn't misinterpreted by Berlitz is fabricated.
Undaunted, Berlitz continued his work by writing more books in which he claims he's discovered a giant pyramid, evidence for the existence of Atlantis, and Noah's Ark.
further reading
Kushe, Larry and Deborah K. Blouin. Bermuda Triangle Bibliography, 3d ed. (Tempe, Ariz.: University Library, Arizona State University, 1975).
Kushe, Larry. The Bermuda Triangle Mystery--Solved (New York: Warner Books, 1975).
Randi, James. Flim-Flam! (Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books,1982), ch. 3.