Bermuda Triangle
I
t was Halloween, 1991.
Radar controllers
checked and rechecked
what they had just seen.
The scope was blank in a
spot now. Everywhere else
all seemed normal.
Routine traffic was
proceeding undisturbed, in
their vectors, tracked and
uninterrupted. But just
moments earlier they had
been tracking a Grumman
Cougar jet. The pilot was
John Verdi. He and trained
co-pilot, Paul Lukaris,
were on a flight toward
Tallahassee.
Moments before Verdis
voice had crackled over
the receiver at the flight
center: Uh, this is
November two four
Whiskey Juliet (N24WJ). I
am at, uh, two five three
zero zero. Request ascent
two nine zero. Over.
Permission was quickly
granted. The turbo jet was
then seen ascending from
25,300 feet to its cruising
altitude of 29,000. All
seemed normal.
They were still
ascending. Verdi had not
yet rogered reaching his
new altitude. Radar
continued to track the
Cougar until, for some
unknown reason, it simply
faded away. Verdi and
Lukaris answered no more
calls to respond. They had
sent no MAYDAY to
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indicate a problem. Read-
outs of the radar
observations confirmed
the unusual: The Cougar
had not been captured at
all descending or falling to
the sea. Frankly, it had just
vanished while climbing; it
simply faded away.
One well known case in
1962 vividly brings home
the need for careful
behind-the-scenes
probing. Once again, it
involves an aircraft.
The date was January 8,
1962. A huge 4 engine
KB-50 aerial tanker was
en route from the east
coast to Lajes in the
Azores. The captain, Major
Bob Tawney, reported in
at the expected time. All
was normal, routine. But
he, his 8 crew and big
tanker, never made the
Azores. Apparently, the
last word from the flight
had been that routine
report, a report which had
placed them a few
hundred miles off the east
coast.
FLASH! the media
broadcasted, fed by a
sincere Coast Guard
issued press statement,
that a large oil slick was
sighted 300 miles off
Norfolk, Virginia, in the
planes proposed route.
The mystery could be
breaking. . . .
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But that was the only
clue ever found. Although
never proved it was from
the plane, publicly the
suspicions were obvious:
the tanker and its qualified
crew met a horrid and
sudden death by crashing
headlong into the sea.
However, the report--
finished months later--
confirmed no such thing.
Tawney had been clearly
overheard by a Navy
transport hours after his
last message. This placed
him north of Bermuda,
hundreds of miles past the
spot of the oil slick. There
is no evidence, therefore,
that the plane and its crew
ever met any known fate.
The contradiction was
hardly the presss fault.
Nor was it totally the
blame of the Coast Guard.
As soon as scratchy
information came in, it was
directed to the by-standing
media. But this had
misleading effects, as the
KB-50 case demonstrated.
With almost every case
the same thing has
happened. By the time
concrete information is
obtained, the story has lost
its appeal, and no follow-
ups ever find their way into
the papers.
 Bermuda Triangle

COMPREHENSION CHECK
Are the following statements true (T) or false (F)?
True False

1- The controllers at the flight center couldnt get into communication with John
Verdi at all.
2- John Verdi and Paul Lukaris were both professional pilots.
3- The flight control centre did not reject Verdis ascent request.
4- The Cougar jet was flying at a high altitude so the pilot asked permission for
diving to a lower altitude.
5- The radar controllers managed to have contact with the jet some time after it
started climbing to higher altitudes.
6- Following its ascent, no signal was received from the Cougar.
7- A huge 4 engine KB-50 aerial tanker was on the way from the east coast to
Lajes.
8- The KB-50 aerial tanker didnt manage to reach its destination.
9- The KB-50 aerial tanker fell due to technical failure of the engines.
10- In the authors opinion, the media distorted the news about the aerial tanker.

BUILDING VOCABULARY

A- Match the words on the left with a definition on the right.

___ blank 1. to move or travel in a particular direction

___ proceed 2. to rise; to go up; to climb up
___ uninterrupted 3. to ask questions in order to find out secret or hidden information about
sb/sth
___ crackle 4. producing very clear pictures in your mind
___ altitude 5. empty, with nothing written, printed or recorded on it
___ ascend 6. not stopped or blocked by anything; continuous
___ grant 7. to make short sharp sounds like sth that is burning in a fir
___ vanish 8. to disappear suddenly and/or in a way that you cannot explain
___ vivid 9. the height above sea level
___ probe 10. to agree to give sb what they ask for, especially formal or legal
permission to do sth

B- Match the words on the left with a definition on the right.

___ apparently 1. smooth and difficult to hold or move on

___ feed 2. (of writing or drawings) done without care
___ issue 3. a lack of agreement between facts, opinions, actions, etc
___ slick 4. according to what you have heard or read; obviously
___ sight 5. give advice, information, etc. to sb/sth
___ horrid 6. to hear, especially by accident, a conversation in which you are not
involved
___ overhear 7. to make sth known formally
___ contradiction 8. very unpleasant or unkind
___ scratchy 9. based on facts, not on ideas or guesses
___ concrete 10. to suddenly see sth, especially sth you have been looking for

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 Bermuda Triangle

Idioms and other phrases

A- Match the idioms on the left with a definition on the right.

___ in a spot 1. on the way; while travelling from/to a particular place

___ fade away 2. in a difficult situation
___ behind-the-scenes 3. in a way that people in general are not aware of
___ en route 4. disappear gradually

B- Fill in the blanks with the appropriate idioms given below.

fade away behind-the-scenes en route in a spot

1- Between the two sides a lot of negotiating has been going on . .

2- The bus broke down . from Istanbul to Bursa.
3- She always helped me when I was .... .
4- Hopes of agreeing on a ceasefire seem to .. The clash between both sides is
not likely to be prevented.

Expressions with the word evidence:

there is not a shred of evidence: There is not a shred of evidence that he stole your money.
on the evidence of : On the evidence of its recent matches, our team is unlikely to
win the cup.
give evidence : The eyewitness was asked to give evidence at the trial.
be in evidence : Hundreds of policemen were in evidence at the
demonstration yesterday.

Expressions with the word scene:

be on the scene
create/make a scene
set the scene for sth
a change of scene
: The police and firefighters were on the scene soon after the
blast.
: When he found a fly in his drink, my brother started to
create/make a scene.
: His appearance at the reception set the scene for another
argument.
: We decided to go abroad for a change of scene (= to see and
experience new surroundings)

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 Bermuda Triangle

ANSWER KEY

COMPREHENSION CHECK

1- F 2- F 3- T 4- F 5- F 6- T 7- T 8- T 9- F 10- F

BUILDING VOCABULARY

A-

1- proceed 6. uninterrupted
2- ascend 7. crackle
3- probe 8. vanish
4- vivid 9. altitude
5- blank 10. grant

B-

1- slick 6. overhear
2- scratchy 7. issue
3- contradiction 8. horrid
4- apparently 9. concrete
5- feed 10. sight

Idioms and other phrases

A-

1- en route
2- in a spot
3- behind-the-scenes
4- fade away

B-

1- behind-the-scenes
2- en route
3- in a spot
4- fade away

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