O texto seguinte servirá de base para responder à questão.

(1º§) "The hype around the Bermuda Triangle can be traced back to a series of unexplained disappearances of ships and aircraft. In 1945, five US Navy planes and 14 men disappeared in the area while doing routine training exercises. The flight's leader, Lieutenant Charles Taylor, was heard over the radio saying: "We are entering white water, nothing seems right. We don't know where we are, the water is green, no white." The US navy investigated and ultimately reported the incident as "cause unknown". From the time of this incident until the mid-1980s, 25 small planes disappeared while passing through the Bermuda Triangle. They were never seen again. No wreckage was ever recovered.

(2º§) In light of the above, we should ask ourselves: if we don't know what caused something, or if something appears entirely mysterious, should we look for the answer in the paranormal (such as ghosts or spirits) or the supernatural (such as magic or miracles)? Some people do. They find such explanations exciting. This is what has happened for decades with the incidents in the Bermuda Triangle. However, when we take the time to learn more about these events and not jump to conclusions, they start to look much more ordinary.

(3º§) "Take the disappearance of Charles Taylor and the five planes which the US Navy investigated. The investigation found that as it got dark outside and the weather changed, Taylor had navigated the planes to the wrong location. Taylor also had a history of getting lost while flying. He had twice needed to be rescued in the Pacific Ocean. The navy itself had a good idea of what had happened ahead of the disappearance.

(4º§) "But the incident was ultimately described as "cause unknown" because Taylor's mother, not wanting to blame her son for the disappearance, maintained if the navy couldn't find the aircraft they couldn't say for sure what had happened. Not wanting to blame Taylor for the tragedy, the navy agreed. Most of the pilots involved in the incident were trainees. This means they weren't properly taught how to use all the aircraft instruments when flying at night, or in bad weather.

(5º§) "What's more, the aircraft they had been flying were known to sink in as little as 45 seconds if they landed in water. And once aircraft sink in the vast ocean (although this is extremely rare these days), they are often never found again. This is true even now, despite big improvements in aircraft technology and search-and-rescue methods. For instance, only a small amount of debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight, which disappeared in 2014, has been found [...].

SATTERLEY, S. Curious Kids: what is the Bermuda Triangle and why is it considered dangerous?. The Conversation, 2020 (adaptado). Disponível em: https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-what-is-the-bermuda-triangle-a nd-why-is-it-considered-dangerous-145616. Acesso em 21 de julho de 2024.