Crash angle in Odisha's Bermuda Triangle

BHUBANESWAR: The Hawk aircraft of Indian Air Force that crashed on Jharkhand side of the border on Tuesday is one among more than a dozen such crashes to have been reported in the region since the World War II days. At least 15 crashes have been reported in a triangle formed by Piarboda near Bankura (West Bengal) to Chakulia (Jharkhand) and Amarda Road Airfield (Odisha), according to researcher Anil Dhir. He terms the region as “Odisha’s Bermuda Triangle”. The last crash took place in 2015 and it too was a Hawk fighter trainer from Kalaikunda Air Base while the earliest recorded crash was on May 4 in 1944. In that year, an American Liberator collided with a Harvard de Havilland plane before crashing at Amarda Road Airfield killing four members of the crew. The crash site was about 100 km from Tuesday’s spot, Dhir says.

Another Liberator which had taken off from Digri on a special mission on May 7, 1944 crashed 20 minutes after take-off. At least 10 crewmen were killed in the accident. Digri is 90 km from the present crash spot. A de Havilland which had taken off from Amarda Road Station on May 13, 1944 also crashed. However, the crew escaped.

Dhir, who lists out the mishaps, says the biggest crash was when two British Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator four-engine bombers - EW225 and EW247 - collided at low altitude on July 26, 1945. Fourteen crew members were killed in the accident which occurred during a formation flying exercise. The debris fell at a site in West Bengal, about 70 km from Tuesday’s spot. Another half a dozen crashes occurred over Bay of Bengal and planes were never found.

A number of airfields were established at Jharsuguda, Amarda Road, Charbatia, Hijli, Dudhkundi, Digri, Salua, Chakulia, Kalaikunda and Bishnupur to boost air support for Allied Forces against Japanese onslaught. Most are now disused and forgotten.Dhir says there is no single theory to explain the mishaps. Most crashes in this area occurred in good weather conditions and the airplanes were victims to different circumstances while flying over the triangle. Since half the crashes remain unexplained, there are speculations.

Unexplained crashes

At least 15 crashes reported in a triangle formed by Piarboda near Bankura (West Bengal) to Chakulia (Jharkhand) and Amarda Road Airfield (Odisha) - known as Odisha’s Bermuda Triangle

• 2015: A Hawk fighter trainer from Kalaikunda Air Base crashed 

• May 4, 1944: American Liberator collided with a Harvard de Havilland plane before crashing at Amarda Road Airfield. Four crew members died. Crash site was about 100 km from today’s spot

• May 7, 1944: A Liberator which had taken off from Digri on a special mission crashed 20 minutes after take-off At least 10 crewmen were killed. Digri is 90 km from the present crash spot

• May 13, 1944: De Havilland which had taken off from Amarda Road Station crashed. The crew escaped

• July 26, 1945: Two British Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator four-engine bombers -- EW225 and EW247 -- collided at low altitude. 14 crew members killed