A POSSIBLE ANSWER TO THE STENDEC MYSTERY?

I have briefly touched on the STENDEC legend in a previous article about the crash of the STAR DUST. 

SEE: THE MYSTERIOUS WORLD. AMONG THE MISSING- WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? PARTS 1-5.

Here is a brief summary of the Mystery, from the TV SHOW NOVA ON PBS.

STENDEC REFERS TO THE LAST WORD(S) RECEIVED BY THE CHILEAN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER FROM THE STAR DUST. THE FOLLOWING IS FROM THE TV SHOW NOVA, (PBS), ABOUT THE MYSTERY;

The official 1947 report into Stardust's disappearance had this to say on the subject:

The 17.41 signal was received by Santiago only 4 minutes before the ETA. The Chilean radio operator at Santiago states that the reception of the signal was loud and clear but that it was given out very fast. Not understanding the word "STENDEC" he queried it and had the same word repeated by the aircraft twice in succession. A solution to the word "STENDEC" has not been found. From this time on nothing further was heard from the aircraft and no contact was made with the control tower at Santiago. All further calls were unanswered.

Before I get into the solution I propose for the STENDEC MYSTERY, keep in mind:

This is not meant to be the final word in finding an answer to the mystery. Treating it as a puzzle

that remains unsolved, the question of STENDEC is more of a Leisure Time activity. To me, it is a fun

way to "Excersize" your mind without any real constraints on Time or Subject Matter. 

(Don't misunderstand, the crash of the STAR DUST was a real and genuine tragedy, which I covered in 

a previous article.)

The Biggest roadblock into finding a definitive conclusion that would explain the mystery is that Radio 

Operator Dennis Harmer was killed in the crash, so there is no way of ever knowing what he meant by 

sending STENDEC.* This in no way should cast a shadow over his abilities, or the performance of the

 rest of the crew. They were highly trained professionals who "Cut their Teeth" flying against the 

LUFTWAFFE IN WORLD WAR 2. 

*Also, keep in mind that all communications between the STAR DUST and the Chilean Air Trafic Controller were done by MORSE CODE. There was no Vocal/Voice Transmission between the two.

Sometimes, we have a mystery that will forever remain unsolved, simply because we do not 

have enough evidence that provides us with a definite answer. We can speculate, and narrow the field to 

the most reasonable possible conclusions, but that is the best anyone can do. So, in Memory of those 

who were lost so long ago, I offer the following;

IF STENDEC IS NOT A MISSPELLING, AN ANAGRAM, OR AN ACRONYM, WHAT ELSE 

COULD IT BE? SUPPOSE IT WAS SENT AS TWO WORDS, AND PERCEIVED AS JUST ONE.

When I first looked at the word, many years ago, there was always something that bothered me. As time 

went by, it was how unlike it was to any other word I could think of. The ANAGRAM OR ACRONYM 

SOLUTIONS seemed too unlikely to consider, especially when the Crew believed they were only a 

few minutes from landing. So, if STENDEC seemed incomprehensible as one word, could Harmer have 

keyed in TWO DIFFERENT WORDS.

HERE IS WHAT I CAME UP WITH:

STEN

STEN- (VERB): TO STRIDE ENERGETICALLY.

(intransitive) Scottish

to STRIDE energetically

Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

STRIDE- a regular or STEADY COURSE, pace, etc

Decin American English

1.  

December

2.  DECLINATION

- 

a bending, sloping, or moving downward

Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Could Harmer have been trying to relay the message that the STAR DUST WAS DESCENDING AT A NORMAL STEADY RATE, AND ON COURSE?

Maybe this was something HARMER was trying out, and would not have been familiar to the controller. Since it was anticipated that the STAR DUST WAS LANDING IN A FEW MINUTES, IT MIGHT NOT HAVE SEEMED MUCH OF A PROBLEM.

Could it be a shortened way of saying: "Preparing to land, rate of descent is normal, no problems to report."