The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 in 2014 is considered the greatest aviation mystery of our time but it does not stand alone. The second volume of Without a Trace begins in 1970, when a military pilot chased a glowing unidentified object only for both to disappear in an instant. How did India manage to misplace five fighter jets? Did the young pilot chasing an inexplicable aircraft over the Australian coast really get abducted by aliens? These questions and more are explored in volume 2 of Without a Trace. We explore modern mysteries as recent as 2016, with the sudden disappearance of an Antonov An-32 on a routine courier flight, while the aircraft ahead and behind saw nothing. Each case is laid out in rich detail and presented chronologically, with explanations of technology, aviation jargon and cultural aspects involved in each mystery.

Sylvia Wrigley introduces the crews, innocent bystanders and rescuers in this collection of true stories. Documenting the popular theories from each case, she uses her knowledge and experience as a pilot and an aviation journalist to demystify aviation jargon and narrow down each disappearance to the most likely explanations. The stories range from fighter jets to commercial airliners, all of which have vanished within our lifetimes without a trace.