Originally published at: New Expedition Aims To Locate Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra - AVweb
Researchers are launching an expedition to investigate a possible aircraft wreck spotted in satellite imagery that may be Amelia Earhart’s missing aircraft.
An aircraft ending up in a watery graveyard is not one of aviation’s greatest mysteries - the oceans hold potentially tens of thousands of aircraft along with thousands of seafaring vessels - leaving scarce room for Spongebob, who is still clearing Bikini Bottom of wreckage as we speak.
I suggest giving the $500K (and no doubt much more to come) to the town of Harbour Grace Newfoundland to find the thiefs who took her statue from the airfield one night.
"The statue was an attraction and inspiration for children in the area, as well as tourists, says Mayor Don Coombs.
“She brought girls to a new level, that the sky is the limit.”
Seems a lot more inspiring to me than looking downward into a cold, dark graveyard to exhume proof of her death.
Another waste of valuable resources that will turn up another goose egg. Remind me of the millions spent trying to locate MH370, the lost city of Atlantis, the Loch Ness Monster, oh and my first E5-B?
The well known TIGHAR organization says the artifact in the photo is not a piece of an airplane, claims it looked in the lagoon.
TIGHAR’s research is covered in One More Good Flight: The Amelia Earhart Tragedy: Gillespie, Richard E: 9781682479384: Books - Amazon.ca which will be supplemented with a bit more analysis of items found on the island such as a unique piece of airplane fuselage.
If anyone has big money spend on sonar in deeper waters off of the reef than TIGHAR was able to afford looking in.
The book ‘One More Good Flight’ reveals how badly prepared she was for the flight, notably in radio communication knowledge.
She and navigator did not make contact with a ship near their destination - both botched communication, and a radio transmitter put on Howland Island failed to work.
TIGHAR’s well-documented theory is that the turned south toward a group of islands, crash landing on the reef of Gardner/Nikumaroro.
Otherwise the book explains why radio signals received after she disappeared point to that island, she and navigator probably transmitted while their airplane was still on the reef, before storms broke it up and washed it into deep water. It includes a photo that may be a landing gear leg on the reef.
It details artifacts consistent with presence of someone like Earhart, and pieces of aluminum used by later occupants (island was not inhabited at time of her disappearance).
Purdue’s list of evidence seems to be what TIGHAR already found, TIGHAR says it already looked in the lagoon.
Will it add anything, such as deep water sonar? That’s where money could be spent (off of the reef not in the lagoon).
Otherwise it is PR to promote Purdue U.
(At least they have the most likely island, in contrast to one supposed pilot who spent megabucks on sonar in the ocean elsewhere and claimed an image matched her airplane - but actually was a match to a single engine single tail swept wing airplane such as USN trained with in the region after WWII.)
Like that missing tooth filling that your tongue cannot resist probing, the Earhart mystery will command our attention until we’ve spend a fortune to “solve” it. The world is full of unanswered/unanswerable questions that will always fascinate those who are unfamiliar with William of Okkam and his shaving device.
I think that DB landed on a grassy knoll on the shores of an Scottish lake, myself.
At the risk of sounding cold hearted and un-feeling, why is money being spent on this? While it’s a piece of history, that is a fact. However, he cost of recovery, IF it’s THE plane, and the cost of restoration, will be massive. This money could be put to much better use at Purdue; like scholarships for aspiring pilots that cannot afford the cost of flight school. We need about 600,000 pilots in the next 20 years to cover part 91, 121, and 135 needs.
This is a valiant project, but the money could be put to better use
I agree with Aviatrexx… the Earhart saga is fascinating, but it’s unlikely to be solved. The Pacific doesn’t answer questions…
DB in Scotland? Interesting… good choice and lots of places to hide money. 
If there were geese out there I’m thinking they were lost too.
Remind me of the millions spent trying to locate MH370, the lost city of Atlantis, […]
And lets not forget the White Star Line Titanic, wherever she lies.