A plane disappears in 1954 with 92 people on board and mysteriously lands in Brazil 35 years later with skeletons still strapped to their seats. It sounds like the plot of a science-fiction movie—but the viral story of Santiago Flight 513 is not a real aviation mystery. It is a decades-old tabloid fabrication that continues to resurface online.
The story first appeared in the Weekly World News on November 14, 1989. The US tabloid was known for publishing sensational and fictional stories, and its account of Santiago Flight 513 was presented as though it were a genuine news report.
