Fact Check

Did a U.S. Military Airplane Lost in 1945 Reappear 75 Years Later?

A routine review of content labeled satire.

Published Feb. 14, 2020

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Claim:
A U.S. military airplane lost in 1945 mysteriously reappeared 75 years later.

In February 2020, readers began asking us about reports positing that a U.S. military airplane that had been lost in 1945 had suddenly and mysteriously reappeared in 2020:

military plane reappears

The source of these reports was a Feb. 13, 2020, article published by the World News Daily Report website:

PLANE THAT DISAPPEARED IN BERMUDA TRIANGLE IN 1945 LANDS IN FLORIDA, CREW MEMBERS REMEMBER NOTHING

One of a group of five Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that disappeared over the Bermuda Triangle on December 5, 1945, mysteriously reappeared this morning at the Patrick Air Force Base in Brevard, Florida.

Around 7:15 AM this morning, a single-engine propeller aircraft arrived in the vicinity of the United States Air Force restricted flight zone and used an abandoned military radio frequency to demand permission to land on the installation.

The pilot ignored several warnings from the tower operators, insisting that his obsolete aircraft was a military vehicle belonging to the U.S. Air Force.

This item was not a factual recounting of real-life events. The article originated with a website that describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature, as follows: "All characters appearing in the articles in this website – even those based on real people – are entirely fictional and any resemblance between them and any persons, living, dead, or undead is purely a miracle."

We note for the record that the crew of an airplane lost on Dec. 5, 1945, would not have been "asking if the World War 2 has ended," as the war had already ended four months before they went missing.

For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.

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