The Why Files: Operation Podcast - 13: The Nevada Triangle | 2,000 Planes Mysteriously Crashed & Missing Near Area 51 👽

Episode Date: June 26, 2022

Most of us have heard of the Bermuda Triangle, where planes and ships have mysteriously gone missing in the Atlantic Ocean for decades. Did you know there is a similar place in Nevada? The Nevada Triangle. In a region of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Nevada and California, 2,000 planes have been lost in the last 60 years. In this remotely populated area of more than 25,000 miles of mountain desert, many of the crash sites have never been found.   The Nevada Triangle is typically defined as spanning from Las Vegas, Nevada in the southeast to Fresno, California in the west, and to Reno, Nevada at the top. Within this wilderness is the mysterious, top-secret Area 51. Along with the dozens of conspiracy theories which include UFOs and paranormal activity that surrounds the air force base, similar theories have long been considered regarding the Nevada Triangle.   One plane to go missing was that of a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer named Steve Fossett on September 3, 2007. Fossett, flying a single-engine plane over Nevada's Great Basin Desert, took off and never returned. After hunting for a month for the plane, the search was called off and on February 15, 2008, Fossett was declared dead. Later that year on September 29th, Fossett's identification cards were discovered in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California by a hiker.   Throughout the years, many of the missing planes were flown by experienced pilots and have disappeared under mysterious circumstances: and their wreckage never found.  The biggest mystery is: nobody really talks about it.   Let's find out why. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thewhyfiles/support

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It's the fact that nobody really talks about it. Let's find out why. A region of the Sierra Nevada mountains between Nevada and California, some 2,000 planes have been lost in the past 60 years. In this remotely populated area of 25,000 square miles of mountain desert, many of the crash sites are still unknown. The triangle is typically defined as spanning from Las Vegas, Nevada in the southeast to Fresno, California in the west and up to Reno, Nevada at the top. Your question. What's up? Put the map back up. Who owns the land in the Nevada triangle?

Most of it belongs to the United States government. And what's that little spot right there? Northwest of Vegas. That's Area 51. OK. And when did planes start disappearing? Well, first report is 1938. Right. When did area 51. OK. And when did planes start disappearing? Well, the first report is 1938. Right. When did area 51 open? They began doing research in 1938.

I see. Huh. But it's not just planes that vanish. It's also people. May I have my hat, please? Yep. There you go. You know, it's really bizarre as these disappearances aren't just casual civilian pilots that kind of got lost. Most of the missing planes were flown by experienced pilots and disappeared under mysterious circumstances with wreckage never found. And many of those cases, the pilots were highly trained Air Force pilots flying state of the art military aircraft.

The most famous crash involved famous aviator Steve Fawcett, who vanished in 2007. His disappearance ignited a massive search that led to the discovery of eight more wrecks. Now, Fawcett was not some weekend warrior. This guy held world records for flying solo aircraft, gliders. He even flew around the world in a hot air balloon, which sounds terrifying. This guy was also an expert in cross-country skiing, mountain climbing. He did ultra marathons. He's a triathlete.

So if there's one guy who can survive anything, it was Steve Fawcett. But on September 3rd, Fawcett flying a single-engine plane over Nevada's Great Basin Desert took off and never returned. After a major search effort that lasted over a month, he was declared dead. Then the following year, Fawcett's ID cards were found by a hiker. A few days later, the crash site was located about 65 miles from where Fawcett took off. Two bones were also found about a half mile from the crash site, and the bones were later confirmed to be belonging to Steve Fawcett. Where were the rest of his bones?

Well, we're not sure, but most likely animals. Chupacabra. Found his remains and. Aliens. Scavenged them, but. Lizard people. We'll probably never know. One of the first planes lost in the triangle was a B-24 bomber that crashed in 1943.

The bomber, with a full crew, was on a routine night training mission taking off from Hammerfield in Fresno and was supposed to fly from California to Tucson. Gone, gone, never made it. An extensive search began the very next day when nine B-24s were sent out to find the missing plane. But rather than finding it, another bomber went missing. It just vanished. Then in 1955, when Huntington Lake Reservoir was drained for repairs to the dam, there it was. The investigation into the second bomber stated that the plane had experienced high wind turbulence and began to lose hydraulic pressure. When the captain saw what looked like

a snow-covered clearing, he told his crew to bail, but only two jumped. But the two soldiers who parachuted and survived made statements that the lake wasn't frozen. When the plane was finally found, it was resting 190 feet below the water with its five crew members still at their stations. In the meantime, Clinton Hester,

the father of the co-pilot of the first missing bomber, began a private search for his son that would last the next 14 years. And when he died in 1959, he still hadn't found any evidence of his son or the plane. A year later, geological researchers working on a remote part of the desert found airplane wreckage in an unnamed lake. Army investigators confirmed the wreckage to be that of the first missing bomber piloted by Second Lieutenant Willis Turvey and copilot by Second Lieutenant Robert M. Hester. The lake is now known as Hester Lake. Another crazy story happened in 1957.

On May 9th, Air Force Lieutenant David Steeves was piloting a T-33 training jet taking off from Hamilton Air Force Base near San Francisco. On a flight to Arizona, the plane disappeared after a thorough search. Without success, the Air Force declared the 23 year old pilot officially dead. But 54 days later, he reappeared, gaunt and dressed in tattered clothing. He had made his way to a camp in the back country of Kings Canyon National Park east of Fresno. He said something in the plane exploded, so he ejected and dragging his parachute to keep warm and injured from his landing. He crawled over 20 miles in freezing temperatures for 15 days without food or shelter.

Eventually, he came upon an abandoned cabin where he found a few cans of food and fishing gear. He said he survived by fishing and hunting with his pistol. There were some who questioned his story, even speculating that he sold his plane to the Russians. And Steve's always maintained that he was telling the truth. But he died only a few years later with his story still in doubt. Now, how did he die?

Plane crash. You I saw that coming in 20 years later. Boy Scouts on a hike found the canopy of his jet. So Steve's was telling the truth. But the rest of his plane still hasn't been found. On October 4th, 1941, five military aircraft went down in one day. And one of the pilots was Lieutenant Leonard C. Lydon, who parachuted to safety after the squadron got lost over the mountains. He said his P-40 fell within a mile of where he landed in Kings Canyon National Park.

They find his plane. Nope. Another famous case was Charles Ogle, a wealthy real estate developer who lifted off from Oakland, California, in August 1964, but vanished on his way to Las Vegas. He was a Marine Corps trained pilot, but he was never seen or heard from again. And his plane. No sign of it. This is getting weird. Oh, it gets weirder. Oh, did you bring it in?

Yes, please. You're terrible at this. Tower says the three five zero requesting touch and go. That's the three five zero tower. Roger. Report over for you for approach. Please, you're terrible at this. Tower, Cessna 350 requesting touch and go. Cessna 350, Tower, roger. Report over for UA for approach. Cessna 350, Tower, over. Cessna 350, Tower, over. You searched for your informant, who disappeared without a trace. You knew there were witnesses, but lips were sealed.

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into a mountain near Bakersfield, California, and the cause of the crash has never been officially revealed. What do you mean officially? Well, congressional sources have said he was flying an experimental aircraft designed with special materials and structural features. Are these structural features disc-shaped? We don't know. It's still classified. Who designed this plane? Lockheed Martin.

Uh-huh. Double hat me, please. There you go. Now, the stories go on and on. So what is it that's causing aircraft to go missing within the Nevada Triangle? Now, some claim the area's climate creates a special type of atmospheric condition that can actually rip aircraft from the sky. Now, in Steve Fawcett's case, some believe conditions created a 650 kph down draft. At the most, his aircraft could climb at 500 kph. So that speed difference meant he had no chance

of surviving. If that's what happened. If that's what happened. The NTSB didn't find any mechanical issues with the plane. So what was it? And why have so many other aircraft disappeared in the same area? Well, conspiracy theorists have claimed the reason so many flights have disappeared has something to do with Area 51, where the Air Force is known to test secret prototype aircraft. Yep. But most experts think the disappearances are due to the geography and the atmospheric conditions. The Sierra Nevada mountains run perpendicular to the jet stream, which creates volatile, unpredictable winds and downdrafts.

This weather phenomenon is sometimes called the mountain wave, where planes are seemingly ripped from the air and crash to the ground. Nope. As for why so many of the crash sites are never located, that's probably because of the complex, rugged terrain and the heavy vegetation. Nope. During the search for Fawcett, eight other crash sites were found. So chances are they're all out there,

hidden within the peaks and valleys of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Nope. Or could it be something else? Yep. Where the heck are we? What is this place? I have no idea. Oh, I got a bad feeling about this. Thanks for hanging out with us today.

My name is AJ. That's Hecklefish. This has been the Y-Files. If you had fun or learned anything today, do us a favor and give us a thumbs up. It really helps out the channel. More than enough. Thanks to Detective Lucky in Tampa, Florida for today's subject idea. And if there's something you'd like covered, let us know in the comments.

Until next time, be safe, be kind, and know that you are appreciated. You searched for your informant, who disappeared without a trace. You knew there were witnesses, but lips were sealed. who disappeared without a trace. You knew there were witnesses, but lips were sealed. You swept the city, driving closer to the truth while curled up on the couch with your cat. There's more to imagine when you listen. Discover heart-pounding thrillers on Audible.