Amelia Earhart Mystery Solved?

[Jeff_S]

3 hours ago, thinwing said:

This whole thing is brought to you by TIGAR.....they have been soliciting dough from naive people in order to spend lots of time traveling,checking out far away places ..i.e. A nice vacation!.Years ago ,they claimed to have found a piece of the Electra she was flying..than a shoe...some bones...etc etc...they keep going back to the till every year.This time ,they get the discovery Channel to bankroll the latest expedition...what do you expect discovery channel to do...produce a show saying "well we were sure suckered into this expedition cause we found squat!All we got out of this was a sunburn and a bad hangover!"

So, first off, the latest special was not TIGHAR but an independent group. TIGHAR is back on Nikamaruro with body sniffing dogs. Google that and you'll get more info. Also, it was History Channel, not Discovery, although I admit sometimes that makes little difference.

And as to the title of the topic, as the OP I will take the blame for that one. I meant to include a "?" at the end but clearly forgot. Can't seem to edit titles!

[thinwing]

12 minutes ago, Jeff_S said:

So, first off, the latest special was not TIGHAR but an independent group. TIGHAR is back on Nikamaruro with body sniffing dogs. Google that and you'll get more info. Also, it was History Channel, not Discovery, although I admit sometimes that makes little difference.

And as to the title of the topic, as the OP I will take the blame for that one. I meant to include a "?" at the end but clearly forgot. Can't seem to edit titles!

Ok Jeff ..send them a check!...

[chrisk]

4 hours ago, ragedracer1977 said:

She refused to learn how to operate a radio, assumed everyone else would do it for her, she got lost, ran out of fuel, and crashed into the ocean.  It's really not a mystery, IMO. When I was much younger, I was very interested in Earhart.  I even did a pretty comprehensive report in 8th grade.  Back then, we didn't have Google or the internet, really.  I read A LOT on the topic.  Old encylopedias,books, etc that I had to locate using the Dewey Decimal System (I wonder if kids still learn that!). People have a desire to know where she ended up.  They want to believe that she didn't mess up and that someone else is responsible.  Everything I've read about her indicates she was a "bold" pilot...  Well, she didn't end up old.  

 

What Earhart didn't comprehend was that she couldn't just fully rely upon the Itasca to find her and give her a DF steer. She was going to have to perform adequately on the radio herself in order to facilitate getting the bearing to the ship. And in this task, she failed horribly, even from the outset, before the flight began, when she had every opportunity to learn the correct techniques and work out the times, frequencies, and modes for the attempted contacts and homing signals. And to practice DF work over and over until she was totally comfortable and confident with it. She was repeatedly approached about this and offered help, but for whatever reason she repeatedly refused it; Paul Rafford, Jr. of the PAN AM radio division related the story of when his engineer met with Amelia in Miami to discuss radio and recommended changes and improvements to the aircraft station. To his shock and dismay, she blew him off with, "I don’t need that! I’ve got a navigator to tell me where I am!” And others had a time of it as well when trying to coach her up on the use of the radio prior to the flight. It seemed she would not learn how it worked or how to properly operate it. Art Kennedy remembered that when Paul Mantz tried to train her, she just nodded and said finally, "@#$%!, I will just turn the knobs until I get what I want!"

The statements above are consistent with what I have read of Amelia Earhart.  In reading an unrelated book on aviation, I came across this statement involving one of Earhart's may crashes:   The Aeronautic Branch of the Department of Commerce  (renamed the Bureau of Air Commerce in 1934) did not accept her version of the incident and issued her a formal reprimand for “carelessness and poor judgment” based on the report made by the local inspector  R.W. Delaney. Actually, the government had intended to ground Earhart for ninety days had her friend Senator Hiram Bingham not interceded.    

It begs the question was Amelia Earhart a great pilot or just a famous one.  Google turned up the following: https://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Forum/FAQs/pilot.htm and    http://huskypawprint.com/3841/opinion/amelia-earhart-false-hero/ 

[carusoam]

Note to the OP...

Titles are editable by the OP only.

Check wich device you used to write the title in case you logged in under a different name(?)

 

Earhart was a great pilot and navigator.

1) She flew a plane in a male dominated world that probably wished she hadn't.

2) She navigated the treacherous world of public opinion pretty successfully.  She's still not done with that job yet.

3) All the back talk sounds like modern race day Indy/NASCAR made for the media, showmanship...

4) I think this is a 'follow the money' kind of mystery.  Be brash, sell some newspapers, and I'll finance the trip...

5) Which newspaper magnate paid for all of this?

Wondering out loud... too much time, distance, expense to do a proper search.  Kinda of like searching for Malaysia Air flight 370, only harder...

Best regards,

-a-

 

 

[Yooper Rocketman]

Here's a report from Avweb this morning noting they've had a Japanese blogger revealing the date of the photo as 1935 and The History Channel's reply;

The History Channel said in a statement it’s "exploring the latest developments about Amelia Earhart and we will be transparent in our findings. Ultimately, historical accuracy is most important to us and our viewers.”

 

10 hours ago, Jeff_S said:

So, first off, the latest special was not TIGHAR but an independent group. TIGHAR is back on Nikamaruro with body sniffing dogs. Google that and you'll get more info. Also, it was History Channel, not Discovery, although I admit sometimes that makes little difference.

And as to the title of the topic, as the OP I will take the blame for that one. I meant to include a "?" at the end but clearly forgot. Can't seem to edit titles!

I was on the TIGHAR website within the last 3 days and there hasn't been an update in years.  I too was under the impression this is a different group doing the research.  My comment on the topic heading was not being critical, just being realistic.  I don't like leaving the door open for some on this forum to come back and slam me any more than necessary.  Open discussion is great, beating up on fellow Mooniacs is not my style.  I probably developed this non-confrontational style from dealing with customers at my dealership over the last 32 years.  It's not very good for business and in the early years I ate my words a couple times too many.

Tom

[Jeff_S]

Ah...indeed, I can edit the title!  That's a valuable lesson to learn.

As to the body-sniffing dogs, it may not be in TIGHAR's website, but just Google it and you'll see several reports, including one by National Geographic. Seems everyone is jumping on this coverage...what better way to sell online advertising!

[HRM]

15 hours ago, ragedracer1977 said:

She refused to learn how to operate a radio, assumed everyone else would do it for her, she got lost, ran out of fuel, and crashed into the ocean.

Frankly, Amelia was not that good of a pilot. Yes, I said it. If you want to learn about a real woman pilot, read up on Beryl Markham,  the first woman to successfully fly across the Atlantic from east to west, which is just a bit more difficult than west to east. What Beryl did not have was a publisher husband who spent his life promoting her.

She died at the ripe old age of 83.

[rbridges]

23 hours ago, flyboy0681 said:

Everyone knows he's under the goalpost at Giants Stadium.

I doubt it.  If he was, Eli would have already sold him as authentic sports memorabilia. 

[PMcClure]

When I think of Amelia Earhart, I don't admire the piloting skills. And I don't think we can judge her by today's standards of aviation and navigation. What I admire is her spirit and drive in pushing the envelope of what was considered possible - that bold spunkiness that used to be characteristic of American heroes. Flying was an adventure then, especially for a woman. Sure history and propaganda may have elevated her status and mystic but let us give her the credit due. Could one of us even imagine a transpacific flight without a GPS today? 

And for her refusal to learn radios - sounds like some guys on here that still insist that paper charts are better than digital, or fail to accept LOP, or new approaches to engine management. How many times have you heard - that's the way I have always done it and I am not about to change now?!! Go back to the 1930's and I bet most pilots were like - Radio's...pfft who needs radio's. 

One interesting side note, I travel in SE Asia and Pacific a lot and once saw a worker in an Indonesian tuna factory that looked exactly like pictures I have seen of Amelia Earhart. I stopped went back and talked to her but didn't even know who Earhart was. Maybe that is a bias for another documentary. 

 

[Skates97]

1 hour ago, Hyett6420 said:

well I don't know, Nasa have kept quiet for years about Trump and Theresa May being aliens from  the Planet Zog.  I only found that out due to my security clearance and my friendship with Jubba the Hut.

Is that Jabba the Hutt's lesser known cousin, or was that Jabba's cover name when running Black Op's? 

[flyboy0681]

2 hours ago, Hyett6420 said:

well I don't know, Nasa have kept quiet for years about Trump and Theresa May being aliens from  the Planet Zog. 

I think you meant planet Zlog, not Zog.

[rbridges]

1 hour ago, Skates97 said:

Is that Jabba the Hutt's lesser known cousin, or was that Jabba's cover name when running Black Op's? 

he's trying to avoid copyright infringement and a legal battle with Disney.

[pinerunner]

I recall in reading the story of Lindbergh's wife that they met and weren't very impressed with Amelia. Lindbergh felt his wife was actually a better pilot. The fact that Amelia didn't manage to home in on her target supports the notion that maybe she wasn't well trained on her navigational radio equipment and found out the hard way. I find it very credible that she was over rated as a pilot. 

Of course my opinion is of no matter. Pick any story you like, even discover the truth, and the result is the same. 

[Andy95W]

4 hours ago, pinerunner said:

I recall in reading the story of Lindbergh's wife that they met and weren't very impressed with Amelia. Lindbergh felt his wife was actually a better pilot. The fact that Amelia didn't manage to home in on her target supports the notion that maybe she wasn't well trained on her navigational radio equipment and found out the hard way. I find it very credible that she was over rated as a pilot. 

Of course my opinion is of no matter. Pick any story you like, even discover the truth, and the result is the same. 

I think there are two sides to this- 1.) she was important to aviation and 2.) she wasn't as good as she needed to be to accomplish what she (or her husband) wanted her to accomplish.

In an age when many people were afraid to fly (and rightly so, at times), she undoubtedly gave others the confidence they needed.  She was a pioneer and deserves credit as such, even if her desires exceeded her abilities.

[HRM]

Just now, Andy95W said:

I think there are two sides to this- 1.) she was important to aviation and 2.) she wasn't as good as she needed to be to accomplish what she (or her husband) wanted her to accomplish.

Could not agree more with both of your assertions. The fact remains that she was an icon and an inspiration to generations of pilots that came after her.

[ragedracer1977]

1 hour ago, Andy95W said:

I think there are two sides to this- 1.) she was important to aviation and 2.) she wasn't as good as she needed to be to accomplish what she (or her husband) wanted her to accomplish.

In an age when many people were afraid to fly (and rightly so, at times), she undoubtedly gave others the confidence they needed.  She was a pioneer and deserves credit as such, even if her desires exceeded her abilities.

Hear Hear!

[thinwing]

6 hours ago, rbridges said:

he's trying to avoid copyright infringement and a legal battle with Disney.

Is he the guy that started Pizza Hut...?

[Marauder]

Could not agree more with both of your assertions. The fact remains that she was an icon and an inspiration to generations of pilots that came after her.

I think she became an icon because of the mystery surrounding her disappearance. A lot isn't said of a number of female aviators who flew in the golden era of aviation and may at best be recognized by name but not by what they accomplished. Like Jackie Cochran, Pancho Barnes, Opal Kunz and Edna Gardner Whyte. Many of them made significant contributions, just not a lot of people know what they did.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[Andy95W]

Undoubtedly she became more of an icon because of her disappearance. But Amelia Earhart had one thing all those other women didn't have- a husband who was a noted promoter and publisher.  She was world famous before her disappearance.

BTW, I completely agree the other women (and more) deserve far greater credit for their accomplishments.

[peevee]

Debunked in 30 minutes.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2017/07/13/a_blogger_exploded_the_hot_new_theory_about_amelia_earhart_with_30_minutes.html

 

[BKlott]

Maybe and maybe not...

 

https://earhartonsaipan.blogspot.com/2017/07/marshallese-government-confirms-date-of.html

[jkhirsch]

Looks my "logical conspiracy" is taking "flight"  

Edited July 17, 2017 by jkhirsch

[Piloto]

Unlike Amelia

THE FBI FOUND HITLER IN ARGENTINA HAVING PINA COLADAS

http://yournewswire.com/fbi-hitler-didnt-die-fled-to-argentina-stunning-admission/

José

[Seth]

On 7/11/2017 at 11:39 AM, jkhirsch said:

For the sake of argument...maybe the Japanese purposefully dated the photo in order to further the cover-up.

There's no way of knowing that the date attributed to that photo is correct, Japanese National Archive or not. I'm sure we could dig through the more familiar US archive and find things that were inadvertently or advertently dated incorrectly.

 

This is what my wife thinks.  Japanese government pre-dated the picture on purpose (could be by accident, she thinks it was deliberate).

Edited July 17, 2017 by Seth

[peevee]

Just now, Seth said:

This is what my wife thinks.

it was printed in a travel log in 1935 apparently.