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There was a Belgian passenger plan that got lost on its way to Teheran and had to land in Grozny. Before GPS planes had literal human navigators with maps and s

There was a Belgian passenger plan that got lost on its way to Teheran and had to land in Grozny. Before GPS planes had literal human navigators with maps and sextants! I would be more inclined to believe in the Bermuda triangle myth if it happened with modern planes and their transponders.

macintux 11mo ago
Your comment reminded me about the concrete arrows deployed across the U.S. for pilots. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/before-radios-pilots-navigated-by-giant-concrete-arrows https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/before-radios-pilots-n... According to that, Montana still uses them.
- abbycurtis33 11mo ago
  Absolutely unbelievable there's not an overhead picture in that article.
  - lukan 11mo ago
    Plenty of pictures are here instead https://www.dreamsmithphotos.com/arrow/ https://www.dreamsmithphotos.com/arrow/
  - deleted 11mo ago
    [deleted]
- buildsjets 11mo ago
  Unfortunately, they de-commissioned the airway beacon system as an official navaid and stopped maintenance for the ground markers during the pandemic. Most are still there, but unlighted and unmaintained. A limited few are being operated by a historical society. https://www.mdt.mt.gov/aviation/beacons.aspx https://www.mdt.mt.gov/aviation/beacons.aspx
- andy99 11mo ago
  Reminds me that there were a number of planes that landed accidentally on the runway of an Air Force base close to Heathrow, apparently because it shared some similar landmarks, some kind of gas tanks the pilots were using as waypoints: https://simpleflying.com/pan-am-707-raf-northolt/ https://simpleflying.com/pan-am-707-raf-northolt/
EdwardDiego 11mo ago
IIRC some passenger aircraft had a sweet periscopic sextant installed, and even the 747 still had a sextant port - not that it stopped KAL-007 crossing the Kamchatka peninsula...
aitchnyu 11mo ago
The British hid the Taj Mahal in WW2 from planes. In Indo-Pak war in 1971, cities and towns far from the border had to blackout. There was blackout in Punjab in 2025 war too.
- pjc50 11mo ago
  .. how do you hide the Taj Mahal? Was there significant bombing against India, and if so from where?
  - aitchnyu 11mo ago
    Taj Mahal disguise https://old.reddit.com/r/OldPhotosInRealLife/comments/112cci9/taj_mahal_agra_india_during_ww2_and_now_in_1942/ https://old.reddit.com/r/OldPhotosInRealLife/comments/112cci... There were Japanese and German attacks in world wars, and wars later with China and Pakistan.

macintux 11mo ago

Your comment reminded me about the concrete arrows deployed across the U.S. for pilots. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/before-radios-pilots-navigated-by-giant-concrete-arrows https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/before-radios-pilots-n... According to that, Montana still uses them.

abbycurtis33 11mo ago
Absolutely unbelievable there's not an overhead picture in that article.
- lukan 11mo ago
  Plenty of pictures are here instead https://www.dreamsmithphotos.com/arrow/ https://www.dreamsmithphotos.com/arrow/
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
buildsjets 11mo ago
Unfortunately, they de-commissioned the airway beacon system as an official navaid and stopped maintenance for the ground markers during the pandemic. Most are still there, but unlighted and unmaintained. A limited few are being operated by a historical society. https://www.mdt.mt.gov/aviation/beacons.aspx https://www.mdt.mt.gov/aviation/beacons.aspx
andy99 11mo ago
Reminds me that there were a number of planes that landed accidentally on the runway of an Air Force base close to Heathrow, apparently because it shared some similar landmarks, some kind of gas tanks the pilots were using as waypoints: https://simpleflying.com/pan-am-707-raf-northolt/ https://simpleflying.com/pan-am-707-raf-northolt/

EdwardDiego 11mo ago

IIRC some passenger aircraft had a sweet periscopic sextant installed, and even the 747 still had a sextant port - not that it stopped KAL-007 crossing the Kamchatka peninsula...

aitchnyu 11mo ago

The British hid the Taj Mahal in WW2 from planes. In Indo-Pak war in 1971, cities and towns far from the border had to blackout. There was blackout in Punjab in 2025 war too.

pjc50 11mo ago
.. how do you hide the Taj Mahal? Was there significant bombing against India, and if so from where?
- aitchnyu 11mo ago
  Taj Mahal disguise https://old.reddit.com/r/OldPhotosInRealLife/comments/112cci9/taj_mahal_agra_india_during_ww2_and_now_in_1942/ https://old.reddit.com/r/OldPhotosInRealLife/comments/112cci... There were Japanese and German attacks in world wars, and wars later with China and Pakistan.