Advances in aircraft technology have cemented aviation as the safest form of commercial transportation across the world, and the planes themselves do not just fall out of the sky.

However, there are numerous incidents of missing aircraft that have mystified investigators around the world, with only a range of theories as to what happened to the aircraft that disappeared off the radar. Let us have a look at some of the most puzzling disappearances of all time.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370

The Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 carrying 239 passengers disappeared in 2014 and is considered to be one of the greatest aviation mysteries in history. The aircraft vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on 8th March 2014. Rescuers spent months scouring the seabed and the southern Indian ocean but efforts were eventually stood down. The cause of the disappearance of the aircraft has still not been determined.

Flight 19, Bermuda Triangle

The most disputed plane disappearance in the early December of 1945, when not just one but six aircraft vanished without a trace and are yet to be recovered. At the height of World War II, the Navy of the United States dispatched five torpedo bombers on a routine training flight over the Bermuda Triangle. After experiencing certain problems with their compasses, all the planes lost communication with the ground station. An intensive rescue mission ensued immediately for five days, during which another plane carrying 13 passengers disappeared, never to be found again. To date, no debris of the six missing planes or their passengers has been found, thus sparking the mysterious aura surrounding the legendary Bermuda Triangle.

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean and to fly solo across the pond, met with a puzzling and tragic end. In 1937, on a trip to fly around the world, her aircraft, a twin-engine Lockheed Electra disappeared near the International Date Line in the central Pacific Ocean. The ground-breaking aviator was not heard from again and the exact circumstances of her disappearance have not been ascertained yet. However, some believe that she was stranded upon an uninhabited island for years, but nothing is certain.

Flying Tiger Flight 739

In 1962, during the preliminary stages of the Vietnam War, the aircraft mysteriously disappeared over the seemingly bottomless Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, en route to the Philippines from Guam. Members of the Standard Oil Tanker in the area reported having witnessed a luminous explosion in the sky, which could have been the plane. After an exhaustive search, nothing could be recovered. Rumors ran rampant throughout the United States ranging from claims that the plane was accidentally shot down by the U.S. government, who then covered their tracks, to simple communication and engine failure.

Air France Flight 447

In 2009, Air France Flight 447 crashed in the AtlanticOcean while flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with the loss of 12 crew and 216 passengers. The cause of the crash was shrouded in mystery until the black box flight data and voice recorders were recovered from the bottom of the ocean. It revealed that the speed recorders of the aircraft had frozen during the storm causing the tragic accident.

Which aircraft do you think disappeared in the most mysterious manner?