Karl Kruszelnicki: The Australian scientist who unraveled the Bermuda Triangle myth

Karl Kruszelnicki, a prominent Australian scientist, has gained widespread attention for demystifying one of the most enduring and sensational legends in modern maritime folklore - the Bermuda Triangle.

Known popularly as the "Devil’s Triangle," this patch of the Atlantic Ocean, roughly bounded by Florida, Bermuda, and the Greater Antilles, has long been associated with the mysterious disappearance of ships and aircraft, fueling endless theories involving sea monsters, aliens, and even the lost city of Atlantis. Yet Kruszelnicki firmly dispels these myths, offering a grounded, science-based explanation that aligns with expert agencies and decades of statistical data.

Who is Karl Kruszelnicki


Karl Kruszelnicki, widely known as "Dr Karl," is a highly respected scientist, author, and popular science communicator born in 1948 in Helsingborg, Sweden. He holds degrees in mathematics, physics, biomedical engineering, medicine, and surgery, and he has also studied astrophysics, computer science, and philosophy.

He began his career working as a physicist designing testing machines for steel used in major infrastructure projects but resigned after ethical conflicts. Over the years, he has worked in diverse roles including car mechanic, roadie for famous musicians, filmmaker, biomedical engineer, taxi driver, and medical doctor, notably serving as a pediatrician before transitioning mostly into science communication.

He is well-known for his engaging and accessible science commentary on Australian radio, television, and podcasts, particularly on ABC’s Triple J, where his weekly science talk show draws hundreds of thousands of listeners. Dr Karl has authored 48 books, covering a wide range of scientific topics in a fun and understandable manner.

Since around 2017, Kruszelnicki has consistently articulated his perspective: the incidents attributed to the Bermuda Triangle are not anomalous but simply the result of probabilities, navigational challenges, natural hazards, and human error.

He states emphatically that “the number of ships and planes that go missing in the Bermuda Triangle is the same as anywhere in the world on a percentage basis,” a claim backed by organizations like the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the renowned insurance market Lloyd’s of London, whose risk assessments have debunked the idea of supernatural causation since the 1970s.

Kruszelnicki’s argument is informed by the fact that the Bermuda Triangle is one of the world’s busiest shipping and flight corridors. The heavy volume of traffic combined with the region’s navigational hazards helps to explain the proportionate number of accidents.

The waters around Bermuda are dotted with reefs and shallow areas where more than 300 shipwrecks have been documented, many caused by collisions with these underwater features. The area’s location near the Gulf Stream—a powerful and sometimes violently unstable current—also subjects vessels and aircraft to sudden and extreme weather changes, including tropical storms and hurricanes, especially during the June-November hurricane season. Such environmental factors significantly increase the risks of accidents.

Kruszelnicki also highlights the errors of human operators as a critical factor. A famous example is Flight 19, a group of five U.S. Navy TBM Avenger torpedo bombers that vanished during a 1945 training mission. Kruszelnicki points out that the flight was led by a navigator who had previously demonstrated poor navigational skills and did not follow established protocols once lost at sea. As a result, the group flew further into the open ocean until running out of fuel and disappearing. This incident, often cited as emblematic of the Bermuda Triangle’s mystery, in fact underscores how human fallibility and natural conditions combine to produce tragedy.

Throughout numerous public appearances and media engagements—most recently in 2023—Kruszelnicki has maintained that no mysterious forces or conspiracies are necessary to explain the disappearances. The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard also support this view, emphasizing that terrestrial factors and human mistakes far outstrip any paranormal theories. He remarks that while supernatural ideas are culturally appealing and have fueled books, movies, and TV shows, the reality is far more mundane but no less tragic.

In sum, Karl Kruszelnicki stands as a leading figure in bringing modern science to bear on a legendary maritime myth. Through careful analysis and engagement with expert data, he has helped to reframe the Bermuda Triangle not as a zone of supernatural peril, but as a region where ordinary risks multiply in a complex natural and human environment.