1 00:00:10,850 --> 00:00:14,130 Speaker 1: A mixture of rain and sleet flashed the windscreen of 2 00:00:14,190 --> 00:00:18,270 Speaker 1: the old Cortina as it drove slowly past the graveyard. 3 00:00:19,450 --> 00:00:22,710 Speaker 1: The windscreen wipers could barely keep up with the onslaught, 4 00:00:23,470 --> 00:00:28,110 Speaker 1: the headstones in Pennygown Cemetery barely visible as the car 5 00:00:28,150 --> 00:00:34,490 Speaker 1: headlights swept past. Dating from the early 1200s, local law 6 00:00:34,729 --> 00:00:38,589 Speaker 1: held that the Pennygown Chapel and Graveyard had once been 7 00:00:38,630 --> 00:00:43,300 Speaker 1: home to unfriendly fairies. But malevolent fairies were the least 8 00:00:43,380 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: of the driver's worries, as he slowly inched his car, 9 00:00:47,140 --> 00:00:49,560 Speaker 1: as close as he dared, to the edge of a 10 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:55,410 Speaker 1: steep drop-off. It was Christmas Eve, and David Hewitt, manager 11 00:00:55,590 --> 00:00:59,930 Speaker 1: of the nearby Glenforcer Hotel on the Scottish Isle of Mull, 12 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: would have much preferred to be back at the hotel, 13 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:06,740 Speaker 1: sipping a dram of whiskey in front of the peat fire. 14 00:01:08,250 --> 00:01:11,290 Speaker 1: What brought him out was a growing concern for one 15 00:01:11,330 --> 00:01:17,910 Speaker 1: of his guests, Peter Gibbs. A somewhat eccentric 55-year-old Englishman, 16 00:01:18,410 --> 00:01:21,410 Speaker 1: Gibbs had arrived on Mull a few days earlier with 17 00:01:21,450 --> 00:01:26,990 Speaker 1: his girlfriend. After discovering that the Glenforcer Hotel boasted a 18 00:01:27,050 --> 00:01:33,210 Speaker 1: rough but serviceable airstrip, Gibbs an experienced pilot, had rented 19 00:01:33,250 --> 00:01:36,780 Speaker 1: a plane from a local outlet to do some island hopping. 20 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: Gibbs had safely returned from one such trip earlier that day, 21 00:01:42,660 --> 00:01:48,300 Speaker 1: but then, for some unfathomable reason, at 9pm Gibbs jumped 22 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: up and announced he was taking the plane up again 23 00:01:51,340 --> 00:01:56,510 Speaker 1: for another short spin. Apparently his last words before he 24 00:01:56,590 --> 00:01:59,430 Speaker 1: taxied down the runway were, and took off into the 25 00:01:59,470 --> 00:02:04,010 Speaker 1: darkly threatening skies, with that if anything went wrong, he'd 26 00:02:04,070 --> 00:02:10,580 Speaker 1: simply throttle back and jump to safety. The weather deteriorated fast, 27 00:02:11,180 --> 00:02:14,640 Speaker 1: the cold blusty wind being replaced by a steady gale, 28 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:20,100 Speaker 1: sleet and icy rain. When Gibbs didn't return after a 29 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:24,190 Speaker 1: short time, everyone at the hotel began to wonder if 30 00:02:24,230 --> 00:02:28,370 Speaker 1: the pilot had indeed experienced some kind of problem. and 31 00:02:28,430 --> 00:02:32,310 Speaker 1: ditched the plane into the sea, which was why hotel 32 00:02:32,370 --> 00:02:36,610 Speaker 1: manager Hewitt was now manoeuvring his Cortina back and forth 33 00:02:36,690 --> 00:02:40,850 Speaker 1: on the clifftop to try and illuminate the choppy waters below. 34 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:46,100 Speaker 1: But he saw no sign of the plane. Peter Gibbs 35 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:50,780 Speaker 1: would never be heard from again in circumstances so strange 36 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: that people have been trying to unravel the mystery of 37 00:02:54,560 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: what exactly happened to him ever since. You're listening to Unexplained, 38 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:13,709 Speaker 1: and I'm Richard McLean-Smith. Norman Peter Gibbs was an expert flyer, 39 00:03:14,110 --> 00:03:17,090 Speaker 1: serving as a young flight officer in the UK's Royal 40 00:03:17,210 --> 00:03:20,310 Speaker 1: Air Force during the final years of World War II. 41 00:03:21,370 --> 00:03:25,310 Speaker 1: A member of the 41 Squadron, Gibbs became a seasoned 42 00:03:25,450 --> 00:03:30,010 Speaker 1: Spitfire pilot. On his final mission, He shot down four 43 00:03:30,130 --> 00:03:34,530 Speaker 1: flying bombs before another plane crashed into the back of his. 44 00:03:35,590 --> 00:03:40,170 Speaker 1: Badly injured, Gibbs spent three months in hospital with petrol 45 00:03:40,190 --> 00:03:43,850 Speaker 1: in his wounds, having his kneecaps glued back together, as 46 00:03:43,900 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: he would later say. Doctors advised Gibbs to give up flying, 47 00:03:48,860 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: but the pilot had a headstrong, impetuous streak, and despite 48 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: everything he'd been through, he continued to fly small planes 49 00:03:56,900 --> 00:04:01,810 Speaker 1: after the war. The multi-talented Gibbs was also an excellent 50 00:04:01,890 --> 00:04:05,990 Speaker 1: violinist and played in several of Britain's major orchestras for 51 00:04:06,030 --> 00:04:11,490 Speaker 1: a time, including the Philharmonia Orchestra. However, his musical career 52 00:04:11,710 --> 00:04:15,550 Speaker 1: abruptly ended in 1956 when he fell out with the 53 00:04:15,610 --> 00:04:20,669 Speaker 1: conductor while on a tour of the United States. Disillusioned 54 00:04:20,730 --> 00:04:23,969 Speaker 1: with the world of classical music, in the following year 55 00:04:24,170 --> 00:04:30,219 Speaker 1: of 1957, Gibbs sought solace in his other great passion, flying. 56 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:34,349 Speaker 1: He joined the Surrey Flying Club and bought a Tiger 57 00:04:34,370 --> 00:04:38,510 Speaker 1: Moth biplane. Gibbs' son Michael was taken up in the 58 00:04:38,550 --> 00:04:43,169 Speaker 1: biplane on numerous occasions, later describing his father as having 59 00:04:43,210 --> 00:04:47,720 Speaker 1: a huge shock of dark hair and prominent eyebrows. He 60 00:04:47,779 --> 00:04:50,740 Speaker 1: also recalled how his father was a bit of a daredevil, 61 00:04:51,180 --> 00:04:57,260 Speaker 1: who loved flying close to the ground. By 1975, Gibbs, 62 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:02,219 Speaker 1: now 55, was the managing director of a successful property 63 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: development company with a keen interest in developing luxury hotels. 64 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:13,380 Speaker 1: On December 20th of that year, Gibbs travelled via ferry 65 00:05:13,660 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 1: to the Isle of Mull, part of a group of 66 00:05:16,380 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: islands known as the Inner Hebrides off the west coast 67 00:05:19,930 --> 00:05:24,770 Speaker 1: of Scotland. His plan was to visit available properties in 68 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,900 Speaker 1: the area with a view to buying one while being 69 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:34,600 Speaker 1: based at the Glenforcer Hotel. His girlfriend Felicity Granger, a 70 00:05:34,620 --> 00:05:41,130 Speaker 1: 32-year-old university lecturer, accompanied him. Gibbs had been especially delighted 71 00:05:41,450 --> 00:05:45,650 Speaker 1: to learn that the Glenforcer had its own airstrip. It 72 00:05:45,690 --> 00:05:48,690 Speaker 1: was built a decade earlier to serve as the island's 73 00:05:48,940 --> 00:05:54,529 Speaker 1: only runway for an air ambulance service The facility was primitive, 74 00:05:55,029 --> 00:05:58,830 Speaker 1: with a grassy surface and no runway lights, classed as 75 00:05:58,910 --> 00:06:04,110 Speaker 1: suitable for VFR, or visual flight rules only. It was 76 00:06:04,170 --> 00:06:07,919 Speaker 1: never used in poor weather or after dark, unless there 77 00:06:07,940 --> 00:06:13,460 Speaker 1: was an emergency. Delighted by the possibility of flying around 78 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:17,160 Speaker 1: the islands, Gibbs got in touch with Ian Hamilton, a 79 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:20,180 Speaker 1: local man with a Cessna he hired out from a 80 00:06:20,240 --> 00:06:23,630 Speaker 1: place near Oban. a short hop away on the mainland. 81 00:06:24,770 --> 00:06:28,630 Speaker 1: The two-seater light plane was in frequent civilian use at 82 00:06:28,670 --> 00:06:33,190 Speaker 1: the time, designed for flight training, touring and personal use. 83 00:06:34,290 --> 00:06:37,810 Speaker 1: Only seven years old, it was painted red and white 84 00:06:38,190 --> 00:06:42,390 Speaker 1: and was equipped with navigation and a radio communication system. 85 00:06:44,010 --> 00:06:48,930 Speaker 1: When Hamilton asked to see Gibbs' private pilot's license, Gibbs 86 00:06:49,010 --> 00:06:51,659 Speaker 1: told him he didn't have it with him, because he 87 00:06:51,700 --> 00:06:57,600 Speaker 1: hadn't anticipated flying on that trip. But this was a lie. Gibbs' 88 00:06:57,700 --> 00:07:11,730 Speaker 1: licence had lapsed some time before. On the morning of 89 00:07:11,810 --> 00:07:16,750 Speaker 1: December 24th, Gibbs and his girlfriend Felicity flew from Mull 90 00:07:16,990 --> 00:07:20,130 Speaker 1: to Broadfoot on the Isle of Skye, and spent a 91 00:07:20,170 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: pleasant day viewing properties there. Flying back to the Glenforcer Hotel, 92 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:29,440 Speaker 1: they enjoyed a full three-course meal and a bottle of claret. 93 00:07:30,380 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: With it being Christmas time, the hotel was lively. It 94 00:07:34,620 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: was a popular place for the locals to drink and 95 00:07:37,340 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: had a busy bar trade. With his guests cosily ensconced 96 00:07:41,780 --> 00:07:45,900 Speaker 1: in the hotel lounge and bar, hotel manager Hewitt and 97 00:07:45,940 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: his wife, settled down in their own quarters to watch 98 00:07:49,540 --> 00:07:55,690 Speaker 1: some Christmas Eve TV. They were startled when, at around 9pm, 99 00:07:56,050 --> 00:08:01,630 Speaker 1: they heard the Cessna's engine starting up. Felicity Granger later 100 00:08:01,670 --> 00:08:04,869 Speaker 1: said that Gibbs had suddenly declared that he was going 101 00:08:04,910 --> 00:08:07,630 Speaker 1: to take the plane up on a short flight to 102 00:08:07,670 --> 00:08:10,250 Speaker 1: see what a circuit of the airstrip would be like 103 00:08:10,290 --> 00:08:14,850 Speaker 1: at night. It's said that hotel staff tried to dissuade 104 00:08:14,890 --> 00:08:18,410 Speaker 1: him There was no moon, they said. It was too 105 00:08:18,450 --> 00:08:23,370 Speaker 1: dark and the wind was rising. But Gibbs, already wearing 106 00:08:23,410 --> 00:08:28,630 Speaker 1: his flight suit, brushed past the protesting staff regardless, strode 107 00:08:28,770 --> 00:08:33,790 Speaker 1: out into the darkness and headed toward the plane. In 108 00:08:33,830 --> 00:08:37,290 Speaker 1: the past, he'd landed planes by the light of candles 109 00:08:37,380 --> 00:08:41,699 Speaker 1: in jam jars. The lack of runway lights wasn't a concern. 110 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:47,780 Speaker 1: Felicity scurried along behind, with two powerful flashlights to help 111 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:50,599 Speaker 1: Gibbs see what he was doing as he began his 112 00:08:50,740 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: pre-flight checks. Some later said that Gibbs seemed to take 113 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:01,340 Speaker 1: an unusually long time to get the plane ready. Hotel 114 00:09:01,380 --> 00:09:05,660 Speaker 1: manager David Hewitt grabbed a pair of binoculars and said 115 00:09:05,700 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: that he saw the plane's onboard lights flicker on and 116 00:09:09,740 --> 00:09:13,839 Speaker 1: off for a while. There were also reports that around 9.30pm, 117 00:09:15,570 --> 00:09:18,790 Speaker 1: As the plane began to taxi down the runway, there 118 00:09:18,830 --> 00:09:23,030 Speaker 1: appeared to be two flashlights moving independently on the primitive 119 00:09:23,110 --> 00:09:27,370 Speaker 1: landing field, suggesting the possibility that there was a third 120 00:09:27,470 --> 00:09:33,600 Speaker 1: person present that night. Humming loudly, the Cessna lifted off 121 00:09:33,940 --> 00:09:38,420 Speaker 1: and banked north over the Sound of Mull. Assuming Gibbs 122 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,540 Speaker 1: was simply going to make a circuit around the hotel, 123 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:45,890 Speaker 1: guests and staff rushed upstairs to get a better view. 124 00:09:46,870 --> 00:09:50,079 Speaker 1: They then dimmed the hotel lights in the hope of 125 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:56,510 Speaker 1: better seeing the plane's navigation lights. Meanwhile, as she later 126 00:09:56,570 --> 00:10:01,640 Speaker 1: explained it, Felicity apparently stood with the flashlights to mark 127 00:10:01,700 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: the end of the runway in preparation for Gibbs' return. 128 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:09,960 Speaker 1: The wind was picking up and it was getting colder 129 00:10:10,140 --> 00:10:16,699 Speaker 1: by the minute. Then Felicity watched with confusion as Gibbs' plane, 130 00:10:17,179 --> 00:10:21,230 Speaker 1: instead of making the promised circuit, just continued to head 131 00:10:21,390 --> 00:10:27,590 Speaker 1: east until its navigation lights disappeared completely behind some distant trees. 132 00:10:28,970 --> 00:10:31,850 Speaker 1: After half an hour of waiting for Gibbs to return, 133 00:10:32,330 --> 00:10:36,720 Speaker 1: Felicity was getting seriously cold, the breeze had turned into 134 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:41,580 Speaker 1: a biting westerly wind, then rain and sleet had started 135 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:46,840 Speaker 1: to fall. It was just after 10pm when she eventually 136 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:50,309 Speaker 1: gave up and rushed into the hotel bar where she 137 00:10:50,350 --> 00:10:54,170 Speaker 1: told a member of staff to contact the emergency services. 138 00:10:55,130 --> 00:10:59,250 Speaker 1: By then, hotel manager Hewitt had already gone out and 139 00:10:59,309 --> 00:11:03,390 Speaker 1: was up on the clifftop scanning the coastline, but there 140 00:11:03,429 --> 00:11:08,680 Speaker 1: was nothing they could do. Gibbs had seemingly vanished into 141 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:19,240 Speaker 1: the stormy night. The police arrived later in the evening, 142 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:24,760 Speaker 1: and began questioning hotel guests about the circumstances of Gibbs' departure. 143 00:11:25,740 --> 00:11:29,900 Speaker 1: The next day, emergency services mounted a huge search and 144 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:35,510 Speaker 1: rescue operation, which extended over the Christmas holidays. RAF and 145 00:11:35,610 --> 00:11:39,870 Speaker 1: Royal Navy helicopters scoured the island and the surrounding sea, 146 00:11:40,370 --> 00:11:44,730 Speaker 1: while teams from the Mountain Rescue Service, forestry workers and 147 00:11:44,830 --> 00:11:48,830 Speaker 1: many local volunteers searched not only the Isle of Mull, 148 00:11:49,370 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: but adjacent parts of the Western Highlands. They worked tirelessly, 149 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:59,720 Speaker 1: battered by brutal storm weather that lasted three days. TV 150 00:11:59,780 --> 00:12:04,300 Speaker 1: and radio broadcasts across Scotland also alerted listeners to keep 151 00:12:04,340 --> 00:12:07,740 Speaker 1: a lookout for Gibbs or the wreckage of his plane, 152 00:12:08,340 --> 00:12:14,189 Speaker 1: but both had vanished without a trace. Inevitably, in lieu 153 00:12:14,250 --> 00:12:18,900 Speaker 1: of any concrete answers, numerous theories sprang up to explain 154 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:24,210 Speaker 1: the strange disappearance. The obvious assumption was that the plane 155 00:12:24,270 --> 00:12:29,429 Speaker 1: had experienced mechanical difficulties or that Gibbs had become disorientated, 156 00:12:29,850 --> 00:12:34,550 Speaker 1: crashed into the sea and sunk. A quick circuit of 157 00:12:34,590 --> 00:12:39,220 Speaker 1: the airfield in the rapidly worsening weather, with no runway lights, 158 00:12:39,620 --> 00:12:44,700 Speaker 1: was no easy task, even for the experienced Gibbs. And 159 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:48,510 Speaker 1: perhaps the dimming of bar lights inside the hotel had 160 00:12:48,570 --> 00:12:53,729 Speaker 1: left the pilot unable to locate the airstrip, or were 161 00:12:53,770 --> 00:12:58,670 Speaker 1: the events part of a deliberate plan? Was Gibbs facing 162 00:12:58,770 --> 00:13:03,589 Speaker 1: some sort of financial crisis, having a mental breakdown, or 163 00:13:03,650 --> 00:13:08,550 Speaker 1: had he perhaps been diagnosed with an incurable illness, factors 164 00:13:08,610 --> 00:13:12,850 Speaker 1: that might have driven him to commit suicide? Had Gibbs 165 00:13:13,070 --> 00:13:17,210 Speaker 1: even been in the Cessna when it took off? And 166 00:13:17,290 --> 00:13:20,910 Speaker 1: what about that claim that two flashlights were moving on 167 00:13:20,929 --> 00:13:25,330 Speaker 1: the airstrip independently of each other? Had there been three 168 00:13:25,390 --> 00:13:30,530 Speaker 1: people present that night, including someone other than Gibbs or Felicity? 169 00:13:31,850 --> 00:13:36,270 Speaker 1: Was it mere coincidence that two days previously there'd been 170 00:13:36,309 --> 00:13:41,940 Speaker 1: a robbery in Oban involving the theft of diamonds? Two 171 00:13:42,020 --> 00:13:45,860 Speaker 1: farmers near Oban claimed they heard a plane go overhead, 172 00:13:46,340 --> 00:13:51,300 Speaker 1: At around 10pm on Christmas Eve, was this Gibbs, and 173 00:13:51,370 --> 00:13:55,550 Speaker 1: an accomplice perhaps, escaping with a plane load of jewels? 174 00:13:57,010 --> 00:13:59,770 Speaker 1: As it turned out, there was enough fuel on board 175 00:14:00,070 --> 00:14:02,910 Speaker 1: to make it to Ireland, which was just over an 176 00:14:02,990 --> 00:14:11,059 Speaker 1: hour's flight time away. On April 21st, 1976, four months 177 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:15,800 Speaker 1: after Gibbs went missing, Isle of Mull shepherd, Donald MacKinnon, 178 00:14:16,260 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 1: was enjoying the vista on a cold and breezy day 179 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:23,240 Speaker 1: as he walked his dog on a hillside overlooking the 180 00:14:23,300 --> 00:14:27,960 Speaker 1: Pennygown Cemetery. He stopped for a moment to watch the 181 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:32,890 Speaker 1: clouds scudding low over the Sound of Mull. Skirting a 182 00:14:32,990 --> 00:14:37,570 Speaker 1: thicket of larch, McKinnon's dog ran into the trees and 183 00:14:37,630 --> 00:14:42,530 Speaker 1: suddenly started whining. When McKinnon strode over to comfort them, 184 00:14:43,110 --> 00:14:46,570 Speaker 1: he saw the body of a man lying straddled across 185 00:14:46,650 --> 00:14:50,950 Speaker 1: a fallen tree. The man was clearly dead and in 186 00:14:50,990 --> 00:14:56,210 Speaker 1: an advanced state of decomposition, mostly held together by his clothing. 187 00:14:57,620 --> 00:15:01,200 Speaker 1: The body was facing due north, which seemed to suggest 188 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:06,100 Speaker 1: that whoever it was had been walking downhill and tripped 189 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:11,200 Speaker 1: over the fallen tree. The location was only 400 feet 190 00:15:11,340 --> 00:15:14,940 Speaker 1: up the hillside, not far from the road below and 191 00:15:15,020 --> 00:15:26,530 Speaker 1: less than a mile from the Glenforcer Hotel. Having discovered 192 00:15:26,570 --> 00:15:31,170 Speaker 1: the body, shepherd Donald McKinnon rushed home immediately and called 193 00:15:31,210 --> 00:15:34,840 Speaker 1: the police. When they arrived, they had to cut a 194 00:15:34,890 --> 00:15:38,520 Speaker 1: branch off the fallen tree where the corpse was wedged 195 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:42,860 Speaker 1: in order to remove it. It seemed almost certain it 196 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:47,210 Speaker 1: was Gibbs. Despite the decay, he was recognisable from his 197 00:15:47,300 --> 00:15:53,470 Speaker 1: flight suit and boots. A subsequent forensic examination eventually confirmed 198 00:15:53,510 --> 00:15:58,850 Speaker 1: it so. A few days after that, Gibbs' girlfriend Felicity 199 00:15:59,370 --> 00:16:04,510 Speaker 1: arrived on the island. Hotel manager David Hewitt took her 200 00:16:04,610 --> 00:16:07,470 Speaker 1: to see the spot where the body had been found. 201 00:16:08,370 --> 00:16:11,300 Speaker 1: As they looked down at the tree, with its now 202 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:15,900 Speaker 1: hacked-off branch, Hewitt noticed something in a patch of heather 203 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:18,870 Speaker 1: that had been depressed by the weight of the body. 204 00:16:20,260 --> 00:16:24,570 Speaker 1: It was a piece of Gibbs' scalp. Hewitt scooped the 205 00:16:24,610 --> 00:16:29,010 Speaker 1: remains into a plastic bag, saying nothing to Felicity as 206 00:16:29,050 --> 00:16:33,730 Speaker 1: he did so. Far from settling the question of what 207 00:16:33,810 --> 00:16:37,830 Speaker 1: had happened to Gibbs that fateful Christmas Eve, the discovery 208 00:16:37,870 --> 00:16:40,930 Speaker 1: of his body was only served to deepen the mystery. 209 00:16:42,430 --> 00:16:45,410 Speaker 1: It seemed strange that it had been in plain sight 210 00:16:45,530 --> 00:16:49,550 Speaker 1: all this time. Why hadn't it been found during the 211 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:53,780 Speaker 1: search of the island by hundreds of volunteers who'd passed 212 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:58,740 Speaker 1: through the area? And where was the plane? While the 213 00:16:58,820 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 1: theory of Gibbs running away to live a new life 214 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:08,139 Speaker 1: was instantly disproved, other rumours began to circulate. The body 215 00:17:08,220 --> 00:17:12,149 Speaker 1: was sent for a post-mortem in Glasgow, and the findings 216 00:17:12,510 --> 00:17:17,730 Speaker 1: made things even stranger. Only minor injuries were found on 217 00:17:17,770 --> 00:17:21,760 Speaker 1: the body, namely a small cut on one leg, likely 218 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:26,780 Speaker 1: acquired when Gibbs tripped over the fallen tree. More serious 219 00:17:26,859 --> 00:17:30,180 Speaker 1: injuries that would indicate he'd bailed out of a plane 220 00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 1: over land weren't present. The toxicology results also negative. And 221 00:17:37,580 --> 00:17:40,530 Speaker 1: if Gibbs had bailed out over the sea or been 222 00:17:40,630 --> 00:17:44,330 Speaker 1: forced to ditch in the water, why did forensic tests 223 00:17:44,690 --> 00:17:49,310 Speaker 1: find no traces of salt from seawater or marine organisms 224 00:17:49,410 --> 00:17:53,310 Speaker 1: on his body or in his clothing? It seemed to 225 00:17:53,410 --> 00:17:57,369 Speaker 1: rule out any possibility that Gibbs had been forced to 226 00:17:57,470 --> 00:18:03,080 Speaker 1: swim to shore. The pathologist's report concluded that Gibbs had 227 00:18:03,180 --> 00:18:07,020 Speaker 1: simply died from exposure. with the condition of the body 228 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:10,899 Speaker 1: being consistent with having lain out in the elements for 229 00:18:10,980 --> 00:18:15,260 Speaker 1: four months. But what if Gibbs had died somewhere else, 230 00:18:15,760 --> 00:18:19,420 Speaker 1: in some other manner, and his body had been placed 231 00:18:19,700 --> 00:18:35,310 Speaker 1: on the tree? In June 1976, Norman Peter Gibbs was 232 00:18:35,420 --> 00:18:39,730 Speaker 1: finally laid to rest. A few months later in October, 233 00:18:40,310 --> 00:18:44,610 Speaker 1: Isle of Mull farmer Robert Duncan was walking along the coast, 234 00:18:45,109 --> 00:18:49,250 Speaker 1: two miles northwest of the Glenforcer Hotel, when he found 235 00:18:49,310 --> 00:18:53,219 Speaker 1: a washed-up aircraft tyre and inner tube of the type 236 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:58,180 Speaker 1: used on Cessna aircraft. It would be a whole decade later, 237 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:04,100 Speaker 1: when in September 1986, A local clam diver named George 238 00:19:04,180 --> 00:19:07,820 Speaker 1: Foster claimed to have been out diving when he discovered 239 00:19:07,859 --> 00:19:11,740 Speaker 1: the wreckage of a small red and white aircraft with 240 00:19:11,780 --> 00:19:15,360 Speaker 1: the same registration as the one Gibbs had been flying. 241 00:19:16,380 --> 00:19:19,730 Speaker 1: It was, he said, about 100 feet deep in the 242 00:19:19,770 --> 00:19:24,950 Speaker 1: water and a mile east of the Glenforcer Hotel. Foster 243 00:19:25,010 --> 00:19:29,350 Speaker 1: took photographs, which he said showed an aircraft in pieces 244 00:19:29,869 --> 00:19:33,350 Speaker 1: with one of the wheels torn off and both wings missing. 245 00:19:34,070 --> 00:19:38,110 Speaker 1: He also claimed that the cockpit doors were locked. However, 246 00:19:38,690 --> 00:19:42,170 Speaker 1: his images of the apparent wreckage were so low quality, 247 00:19:42,930 --> 00:19:48,149 Speaker 1: it wasn't possible to definitively identify the plane. Either way, 248 00:19:48,670 --> 00:19:53,540 Speaker 1: with everything he'd claimed to see, Foster expressed doubts about 249 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:58,040 Speaker 1: the official version of events. He also wondered why the 250 00:19:58,119 --> 00:20:02,360 Speaker 1: authorities didn't follow up his report and lift the wreckage 251 00:20:02,859 --> 00:20:06,440 Speaker 1: to clear the matter up once and for all. It 252 00:20:06,460 --> 00:20:09,280 Speaker 1: would only have taken a couple of airbags to bring 253 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:12,560 Speaker 1: it to the surface, he claimed, was some kind of 254 00:20:12,700 --> 00:20:19,940 Speaker 1: cover-up going on. Retired engineering academic and author Alan Organ 255 00:20:20,510 --> 00:20:25,250 Speaker 1: spent years investigating the circumstances around the last flight of 256 00:20:25,430 --> 00:20:30,310 Speaker 1: Norman Peter Gibbs. His tireless delving into the science of 257 00:20:30,350 --> 00:20:36,179 Speaker 1: the various scenarios culminated in his 2015 book Unraveling the 258 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:41,230 Speaker 1: Great Mull Air Mystery The lack of saltwater or other 259 00:20:41,310 --> 00:20:45,109 Speaker 1: marine traces in Gibbs' clothing seemed to rule out the 260 00:20:45,150 --> 00:20:49,450 Speaker 1: possibility that the pilot had bailed into the sea. However, 261 00:20:49,890 --> 00:20:53,379 Speaker 1: Morgan spoke with a local diver who told him that 262 00:20:53,390 --> 00:20:56,900 Speaker 1: there are places around the coast of Scotland where runoff 263 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:01,139 Speaker 1: from an adjacent hillside or stream can sometimes result in 264 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:05,490 Speaker 1: areas of the sea. where fresh water effectively sits on 265 00:21:05,590 --> 00:21:08,629 Speaker 1: top of the seawater in a layer up to five 266 00:21:08,690 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 1: feet deep. If Gibbs had entered the water in such 267 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: a spot, he might only have been soaked with fresh water. 268 00:21:17,060 --> 00:21:20,520 Speaker 1: The problem with that theory was that the stormy conditions 269 00:21:20,580 --> 00:21:23,859 Speaker 1: the night of the disappearance made it likely that the 270 00:21:23,940 --> 00:21:28,000 Speaker 1: choppy waters would mix the fresh water and seawater together. 271 00:21:29,100 --> 00:21:33,310 Speaker 1: There was another possibility that Having potentially laid out on 272 00:21:33,330 --> 00:21:37,250 Speaker 1: the open hillside for four months, it's possible that Gibbs' 273 00:21:37,330 --> 00:21:40,879 Speaker 1: body and clothing were simply washed clean by the rain. 274 00:21:41,780 --> 00:21:45,200 Speaker 1: But all that would only mean something if Gibbs had 275 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:55,590 Speaker 1: even ditched the plane in the first place. Is it 276 00:21:55,670 --> 00:21:59,750 Speaker 1: really possible that Gibbs had ditched the plane just offshore 277 00:21:59,810 --> 00:22:04,390 Speaker 1: from the Glenforcer Hotel, managed to swim to shore, then 278 00:22:04,450 --> 00:22:07,840 Speaker 1: attempted to walk back to the hotel, climbing the hill, 279 00:22:08,390 --> 00:22:11,500 Speaker 1: only to then trip over the fallen tree in the dark, 280 00:22:12,100 --> 00:22:17,240 Speaker 1: knocking himself unconscious and perishing from exposure, as the autopsy 281 00:22:17,300 --> 00:22:23,550 Speaker 1: had concluded. Landing in seawater that was likely under 50 282 00:22:23,550 --> 00:22:28,649 Speaker 1: degrees Fahrenheit without special gear, typically results in an average 283 00:22:28,730 --> 00:22:32,919 Speaker 1: survival time of one hour. Assuming the swim to shore 284 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:37,180 Speaker 1: had been around 300 yards, that distance would likely take 285 00:22:37,220 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 1: around half an hour in flat, calm conditions, longer in 286 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:45,580 Speaker 1: a heavy sea. But it was theoretically possible at least, 287 00:22:46,020 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 1: without succumbing to hypothermia and drowning. But there were other 288 00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:55,280 Speaker 1: physiological challenges Gibbs would have had to face. When a 289 00:22:55,340 --> 00:23:00,220 Speaker 1: body hits cold water, the initial gasp reflex, followed by 290 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: steady heat loss, typically causes a person's mental processes to 291 00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:10,320 Speaker 1: become confused. The swim would have been tough enough, and 292 00:23:10,380 --> 00:23:13,859 Speaker 1: then if Gibbs had reached the shore, as he stood up, 293 00:23:14,220 --> 00:23:17,939 Speaker 1: freezing cold and dripping wet, the blood in his chilled 294 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,939 Speaker 1: body would have drained rapidly from his brain, leading to 295 00:23:22,030 --> 00:23:27,540 Speaker 1: more confusion. This phenomenon is so well known and potentially 296 00:23:27,619 --> 00:23:32,360 Speaker 1: lethal that rescue crews always keep a person horizontal when 297 00:23:32,380 --> 00:23:36,480 Speaker 1: they're pulled out of cold water. On his own in 298 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:39,780 Speaker 1: the dark, without the benefit of a search and rescue 299 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:45,300 Speaker 1: team or a flashlight, likely dazed, confused and very cold, 300 00:23:45,980 --> 00:23:49,940 Speaker 1: Gibbs then faced climbing the 400-foot hill in front of 301 00:23:49,980 --> 00:23:53,850 Speaker 1: him to get back to the hotel. This might have 302 00:23:53,890 --> 00:23:57,990 Speaker 1: seemed like a sensible strategy. Once on the hill, he 303 00:23:58,010 --> 00:24:01,210 Speaker 1: would have a good viewpoint from which to orient himself. 304 00:24:02,990 --> 00:24:06,399 Speaker 1: Author Alan Organ decided to put the theory to the 305 00:24:06,460 --> 00:24:10,619 Speaker 1: test by attempting to make the climb himself, starting at 306 00:24:10,660 --> 00:24:14,639 Speaker 1: the point on the shore, directly below where Gibbs' body 307 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:19,179 Speaker 1: had eventually been discovered. Even though he did this in 308 00:24:19,220 --> 00:24:23,820 Speaker 1: broad daylight, Equipped with dry walking boots and clothing, it 309 00:24:23,859 --> 00:24:28,830 Speaker 1: was difficult going. In many places there were vertical rock walls, 310 00:24:29,210 --> 00:24:32,949 Speaker 1: three to nine feet high, with few breaks in between them, 311 00:24:33,490 --> 00:24:36,930 Speaker 1: which would also have been impossible to see in the dark. 312 00:24:37,850 --> 00:24:42,730 Speaker 1: But why, Organ also wondered, would Gibbs cross the perfectly 313 00:24:42,790 --> 00:24:47,300 Speaker 1: decent paved road that led directly back to the hotel? 314 00:24:48,930 --> 00:24:53,530 Speaker 1: Did human physiology again point to the answer? It wasn't 315 00:24:53,609 --> 00:24:59,360 Speaker 1: just that it was dark and sleeting with restricted visibility. Gibbs' cold, 316 00:24:59,470 --> 00:25:04,280 Speaker 1: wet feet would likely have lost all sensation. It's possible 317 00:25:04,380 --> 00:25:07,379 Speaker 1: he didn't even realise that he was crossing a road 318 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:12,480 Speaker 1: at all. Alan Organ eventually gave up on the climb, 319 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:17,280 Speaker 1: having taken 40 minutes to get only halfway to where 320 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:22,280 Speaker 1: the body was found His conclusion was a stunning one. 321 00:25:23,380 --> 00:25:28,929 Speaker 1: According to Organ, Gibbs never actually made the climb because 322 00:25:28,970 --> 00:25:32,590 Speaker 1: he wasn't in the plane when it took off that night. 323 00:25:40,130 --> 00:25:47,930 Speaker 1: On her website, fearoflanding.com, retired engineer, experienced Cessna pilot and mechanic, 324 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:53,070 Speaker 1: Sylvia Wrigley has also examined all the evidence and her 325 00:25:53,140 --> 00:25:57,930 Speaker 1: conclusions agree with Alan Organ. She too has proposed that 326 00:25:58,050 --> 00:26:03,110 Speaker 1: Gibbs never left the ground on that last flight. Wrigley 327 00:26:03,190 --> 00:26:06,750 Speaker 1: points out that Gibbs made a big show to everyone 328 00:26:06,810 --> 00:26:09,189 Speaker 1: in the hotel that he was going to take the 329 00:26:09,250 --> 00:26:13,410 Speaker 1: plane up in dangerous conditions, conditions that would have made 330 00:26:13,470 --> 00:26:16,970 Speaker 1: it hard for onlookers to see what was happening out 331 00:26:17,070 --> 00:26:23,639 Speaker 1: on the runway. Why? Wrigley suggests that the Cessna's control 332 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:26,659 Speaker 1: column could have been fitted with what's known as a 333 00:26:26,820 --> 00:26:31,120 Speaker 1: gust lock, which would have disabled the column. Once under 334 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,860 Speaker 1: full power, the aircraft would be enabled to fly off 335 00:26:34,940 --> 00:26:40,680 Speaker 1: the strip unaided. The Cessna would then simply drift according 336 00:26:40,770 --> 00:26:44,770 Speaker 1: to the prevailing wind. Once the engine ran out of gas, 337 00:26:45,150 --> 00:26:48,050 Speaker 1: it would stall and ditch wherever it happened to be. 338 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:52,870 Speaker 1: If that was somewhere out over the Atlantic, no one 339 00:26:53,050 --> 00:26:57,550 Speaker 1: would be the wiser. Was the plane fixed to fly unaided? 340 00:26:58,470 --> 00:27:01,609 Speaker 1: Or was there a third person who snuck into the 341 00:27:01,690 --> 00:27:06,530 Speaker 1: Cessna while Gibbs made his escape, piloting the plane to 342 00:27:06,590 --> 00:27:10,659 Speaker 1: another airfield, then later having the plane dumped from a 343 00:27:10,710 --> 00:27:15,379 Speaker 1: boat into the sea to fake a crash? Did Gibbs 344 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:18,700 Speaker 1: get lost as he made his escape on foot over 345 00:27:18,740 --> 00:27:23,770 Speaker 1: the hill behind the hotel, falling, then dying of exposure? 346 00:27:24,770 --> 00:27:29,650 Speaker 1: Perhaps failing to rendezvous with accomplices waiting to help him 347 00:27:29,810 --> 00:27:34,950 Speaker 1: steal away? Did those accomplices secretly go looking for him 348 00:27:35,450 --> 00:27:39,800 Speaker 1: only to find him dead, then retreat, unable to alert 349 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:44,100 Speaker 1: the authorities without revealing their own culpability in the plot? 350 00:27:45,430 --> 00:27:49,050 Speaker 1: Or did they turn against Gibbs and kill him before 351 00:27:49,130 --> 00:27:52,780 Speaker 1: moving his corpse to its final location to make it 352 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:58,340 Speaker 1: seem like an accident? It's tempting to build extravagant plots, 353 00:27:58,940 --> 00:28:02,340 Speaker 1: but there is one last clue that might yet yield 354 00:28:02,380 --> 00:28:08,399 Speaker 1: the answer. Before his private pilot's license had lapsed, during 355 00:28:08,460 --> 00:28:12,060 Speaker 1: a previous flying test he'd been ordered to wear glasses 356 00:28:12,300 --> 00:28:17,900 Speaker 1: at all times. Yet his girlfriend, Felicity Granger, stated that 357 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:21,350 Speaker 1: she'd never seen him wear glasses and that she was 358 00:28:21,430 --> 00:28:27,650 Speaker 1: certain Gibbs wasn't wearing them when he flew that last time. Perhaps, 359 00:28:28,090 --> 00:28:33,850 Speaker 1: having taken off impetuously and over-confidently in the dark, with 360 00:28:33,970 --> 00:28:39,220 Speaker 1: low visibility and impaired vision, Gibbs simply lost sight of 361 00:28:39,260 --> 00:28:44,190 Speaker 1: the airstrip. Then, Having crashed the plane into the sea, 362 00:28:44,620 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 1: he'd managed to make it back to land, but in 363 00:28:47,580 --> 00:28:51,400 Speaker 1: his effort to walk back to the hotel, he'd simply 364 00:28:51,500 --> 00:28:57,900 Speaker 1: slipped and knocked himself out before dying of exposure. Almost 365 00:28:57,900 --> 00:29:02,350 Speaker 1: 50 years on, it seems likely that these questions will 366 00:29:02,410 --> 00:29:06,750 Speaker 1: remain unanswered, and that the Mull Air mystery, as it 367 00:29:06,790 --> 00:29:15,790 Speaker 1: came to be known, will forever remain unexplained. Thank you 368 00:29:15,870 --> 00:29:18,650 Speaker 1: as ever for listening to the show. Please subscribe and 369 00:29:18,690 --> 00:29:21,940 Speaker 1: rate it if you haven't already done so. Unexplained will 370 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:25,200 Speaker 1: be coming to YouTube very shortly in video form, so 371 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:28,740 Speaker 1: please watch out for future developments there. You can subscribe 372 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:33,390 Speaker 1: to the channel at youtube.com forward slash at unexplainedpod. You 373 00:29:33,410 --> 00:29:36,890 Speaker 1: can also now find us on TikTok at tiktok.com forward 374 00:29:36,910 --> 00:29:41,680 Speaker 1: slash at unexplainedpodcast. This episode was written by Diane Hope 375 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:47,100 Speaker 1: and produced by me, Richard McLean-Smith. Diane is an audio 376 00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:50,229 Speaker 1: producer and sound recordist in her own right. You can 377 00:29:50,250 --> 00:29:54,090 Speaker 1: find out more about her work at dianehope.com and on 378 00:29:54,170 --> 00:30:00,810 Speaker 1: Instagram at inthesoundfield. 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