Book excerpt: The disappearance of Flight 19, five US Navy Grumman TBM Avenger torpedo bombers, on December 5th 1945 and the subsequent vanishing of a Martin Mariner PBM flying boat which was searching for them remains one of the most baffling and enduring aviation mysteries.More nonsense has been written about Flight 19 than almost any other aviation mystery. The loss of these aircraft has been blamed on everything from giant waterspouts to UFOs and even on the malign influence of the Bermuda Triangle. However, many previous writers have either invented evidence to support their theories or have focused on only a single aspect of this tragedy. This book includes a detailed analysis of all the evidence and concludes that the solution to this mystery is much simpler but no less tragic or surprising. The writer has experience of both investigative journalism and flying and uses this knowledge to provide a harrowing account of human failure and fallibility that led directly to the deaths of twenty-seven men.Clearly set out and meticulously researched, this book finally tells the real story of Flight 19.