February 9, 2024, 2:41 pm | Read time: 5 minutes
Between the U.S. states of California and Nevada lies an inaccessible area of about 25,000 square miles. Over the past 60 years, more than 2,000 aircraft have mysteriously disappeared here. These incidents have earned the area the name “Nevada Triangle.” Many suspect they might be linked to the proximity of a legendary military restricted area.
Between the U.S. cities of Las Vegas, Reno, and Fresno is one of the most mysterious places in the entire United States. One could also say: one of the most dangerous. In the approximately 25,000 square mile area spanning California and Nevada, more than 2,000 aircraft have disappeared over the past 60 years. Often, the wreckage was never found, which led to the area being called the “Nevada Triangle.”
According to the aviation magazine “Plane&Pilot,” the Sierra Nevada mountains are located within the Nevada Triangle, as well as the three national parks Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia. However, it is the proximity to another location that likely fuels the myth of the Nevada Triangle even more. On its eastern flank, between Las Vegas and Reno, lies the legendary Area 51. This military high-security area remains one of the most secretive places in the world and has always been the subject of wild speculation. Many suspect that evidence of extraterrestrial life is hidden here, or even that communication with aliens occurs.
Did the U.S. Military Shoot Down the Planes?
Although Area 51 is only at the edge and not in the Nevada Triangle, not only conspiracy theorists have repeatedly voiced suspicions in the past that at least some of the missing planes might have been shot down by the U.S. military. Did they get too close to the military restricted zone and “disappear” as a result? Well, perhaps some of the incidents could indeed be explained this way. However, if you add up all the planes that have disappeared over the past 60 years, you get an average of three accidents per month.
Also interesting: Devil’s Sea – Japan’s Bermuda Triangle
In the past six decades, there have been many mysterious incidents around the Nevada Triangle. But none garnered as much worldwide attention as the disappearance of billionaire and experienced hobby pilot Steve Fossett. According to the news site “News,” Fossett took off on September 3, 2007, in his Bellanca Super Decathlon from a private airstrip in Smith Valley, Nevada. However, he never reached his destination. Shortly afterward, the largest search operation since World War II was launched.
Why Are There So Many Airplane Accidents at the Moment?
9 Places Worldwide Tourists Can’t Enter
The Most Famous Casualty in the Nevada Triangle
Almost the entire, mostly very inaccessible terrain of the Nevada Triangle was combed by search teams. The operation cost about $700,000. Yet it was unsuccessful; neither Fossett nor his plane was found. However, during the search, eight sites were discovered where other planes had crashed. It was only a good year later that a hiker found Fossett’s ID. This eventually led to the discovery of the crash site, about 60 miles from where he had taken off.
Two bones were also discovered, which could later be indisputably attributed to Fossett through DNA testing. He had already been officially declared dead a good year earlier. But how could such an experienced pilot crash? Why do planes keep disappearing in the Nevada Triangle, often turning out to be fatal accidents? Professor Kelly Richmond from the Desert Research Institute in Reno gave a surprising answer to the U.S. radio station “Nevada Public Radio.”
Deadly “Mountain Waves”
According to Richmond, many of the countless accidents are likely caused by a wind phenomenon known as “mountain waves.” When fast winds from the Pacific hit the steep slopes of the Sierra Nevada, they can quickly lift small planes, much like a wave lifts a surfer. On the other side of the mountain, the opposite effect can occur, pulling planes down with massive force. In a short time, they lose hundreds of meters in altitude and may crash. Richmond compares this effect to an object being pulled down Niagara Falls.
Also interesting: Mystery of the Bermuda Triangle finally solved?
Often, however, simple pilot errors also contribute to a crash in the Nevada Triangle. Especially those with less flying experience might lose their nerve during turbulence over the Sierra Nevada. But why do so many of the presumably crashed planes seem to disappear without a trace, sometimes forever? According to Richmond, the largely inaccessible terrain of the mountains is mainly to blame. If a plane crashes in a location that even rescue teams can hardly or not at all access, it naturally remains officially missing.
In the end, all these effects likely play a role together: the changeable weather, the pilot’s level of experience, and the nature of the terrain. And just as Steve Fossett’s plane was eventually discovered, probably all the other wrecks of the missing planes are out there somewhere. In the vastness of the Nevada Triangle, one of the most mysterious places in the U.S.