The Island Map

We’re going back to Hydra Island, and the first thing we’re going to do is ignore every bit of dialogue anyone has ever said about its size or location. Instead, let’s look as what we have seen on-screen, as well as some real-world facts which relate to the crash-landing of Ajira flight 316.

Whenever we have seen Hydra Island, particularly during the Ajira 316 crash-landing scene, it has appeared much larger than Ben’s description that it was “twice the size of Alcatraz.” But we’re ignoring dialogue now. Let’s look at some real-world facts instead:

Ajira 316 is a Boeing 737. So how long would a runway have to be for a 737 to land? Santos Dumont Airport in Brazil is typically regarded as the airport with the shortest runway that 737s regularly land on. Even then, pilots require special training to land there. The runway length is approximately 1300 meters [0.8 miles].

OK, we know that the runway on Hydra Island wasn’t long enough for the 737 to land, but it was long enough for the plane to slow down to a speed where it wasn’t completely destroyed when it hit the trees. Let’s assume that the runway on Hydra Island [pictured above] is at least .75 miles long.

With this information, we can rule out all of the atoll islands off the west coast of the main Island. None of them is remotely large enough to contain a runway of this size.

On Rousseau’s map, she named the two largest of the minor islands: “Alex Island” in the extreme southeast, and “Robert Island” off the east coast. Both of these islands are large enough to accommodate the runway.

I’m not abandoning all of my assertions from the previous Hydra post. I still think that the island closest to the barracks would be the most likely candidate for the Hydra station. Furthermore, the Man in Black’s map indicates a large portion of the eastern coastline to the north and south of Hydra Island. If Hydra Island were actually “Alex Island,” which is located at the end of a point far to the southeast, the map would’ve looked much different.

Based on the new information provided by this latest map, combined with what we now know about real-world runways, Hydra Island is most likely the large, round island located off the east coast of the main Island. I’m going to publish a new version of the map soon, which will reflect this change.