The timeline of events leading up to the disappearance of Flight 19 suggest, as with so many tragedies, that it was not just one mistake responsible for the ultimate loss of 27 airmen, but a series of minor miscommunications and faltering. This is perhaps due to the ordinary and routine nature of the training mission, one that was not far from home base and one that wasn't supposed to go so wrong. But how could a seasoned flight instructor with combat experience and around 2500 hours of flying time to his credit become so disoriented, especially one who was familiar with the region? Why couldn't a simple navigational error be corrected amongst the 5 pilots and crewmen? Was there a general feeling of overconfidence in eventually correcting their course, or was there some unknown environmental force acting upon them, one that is suspected of the area?