“Police at Oban discounted last night a theory that Mr. Gibbs may have jumped from the aeroplane while it was still in the air. A spokesman said: ‘His injuries are not consistent with him having fallen or jumped from an aircraft.’”

— The Birmingham Evening Mail, April 27, 1976

Description:

On Christmas Eve, 24 December 1975, concert violinist Peter Gibbs was just finishing dinner with his girlfriend at the Glenforsa Hotel on the Isle of Mull in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The pair had traveled to this island in the Inner Hebrides four days earlier to look for hotels to purchase for his property investment company. Gibbs had rented an airplane to island hop during their holiday to use in his search, and the Glenforsa, with its adjacent airstrip, would serve as their base camp. But after dinner, Gibbs did something most of us would find odd, perhaps not for the bold World War II RAF Spitfire veteran fighter pilot; he decided to take a solo plane flight to demonstrate that night flights to the island were possible. It was supposed to be a 10-minute joyride while Gibbs' girlfriend, Felicity Grainger, waited on the unlit grass runway with two flashlights to guide him back in. No one would see Gibbs' Cessna F150H ever again. But, four months later, Gibbs' body would be found 400 feet up a rocky hillside and splayed over a fallen tree. Usually, finding the missing person in a disappearance means "case closed," but not in this case. The condition and location of Gibbs' remains would generate many more questions than answers. He didn't seem to suffer injuries consistent with falling or jumping while airborne. Nor was it likely that he would've made the arduous hike to that location after ditching in the freezing ocean. To add to the enigma, Gibbs appeared in an area thoroughly searched immediately following his disappearance and routinely patrolled by local shepherds. These baffling clues combine into what has become known as "The Great Mull Air Mystery."

Location:

The Glenforsa Airfield on the Isle of Mull in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Reference Links:

The Cessna F150H Peter Gibbs was flying

Topographical map of Argyle and Bute, Isle of Mull, Scotland

A British Royal Air Force Spitfire engaging a German V1 “Buzz Bomb” rocket

Peter Gibbs’ RAF Combat Action Reports:

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Click HERE to catch a 10 segment of Forrest on History’s Greatest Mysteries, Season 4, Episode 4: “The Inexplicable Disappearance of Roanoke | History's Greatest Mysteries” on the History Channel’s YouTube page! Or watch the clip below!

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CREDITS:

Episode 253: The Great Mull Air Mystery. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel of VW Sound. Music and Sound Design by Allen Carrescia. Tess Pfeifle, Producer, and Lead Researcher. Ed Voccola, Technical Producer. Research Support from The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2023 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Ep 253: The Great Mull Air Mystery