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Amelia Earhart mystery solved?
- Thread starter Thomas Veil
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I thought that it the piece of the airplane they did find was of a patch that had been installed in a previous crash and that it was almost 100% matched to her airplane?
Which is pretty much exactly where the Electra is supposed to have landed. And subsequently would've been exposed to the same destructive process.
It wouldn't have sunk as such, it more likely would've been overwhelmed by the incoming tide. The the coral reef surrounding Nikumaroro is extensive, and dry at low tide.
I don't see why, the reef is extensive, and considered to be sufficiently smooth to land such an aircraft, especially one that was designed for, and had the capability of taking off on less than ideal surfaces.
But the engines likely never hit the bottom, because they were still in all probability attached to the plane, that landed on the reef.
I think you're not following my point. The airplane would not have been stuck on the reef, as a ship would have been. The airplane, or pieces of it, would have been shoved off the reef by the wave action, where they (not being in the least bit buoyant), would have sunk. Trust me, a nine-cylinder, 600 HP radial engine, and everything attached to it, is not going to remain on the surface for very long. They weight 700-800 pounds each!
I'm beginning to think that.
It would've been though. The SS Norwich is clearly visible on the second image at the bottom of the photo, beached at the start/edge of the reef.
The Electra is thought to have landed north of that, but not on the edge of the reef like the ship.
The reef is the extensive area that surrounds the island, it's not a reef akin to say the Great Barrier Reef for example.
The reef surrounding Nikumaroro is more akin to a beach in it's geography, the plane wouldn't have been washed off the reef and then sunk.
The Electra had essentially landed on a beach (a rock hard beach, but a beach all the same) at low tide (which confirms the plausibility of Earhart being able to send the radio messages, as the Electra was technically on dry land at the time and could use one of it's engines to power the radio).
As the tide came in, the Electra would've been exposed to exactly the same tidal forces as the SS Norwich, it wouldn't have been washed off the reef into deeper water, as the reef is not only extensive, but surrounds the entire island like a beach.
I think the difference between her situation is that her plane may have landed on a reef. Most WWII planes located intact nowadays are below the surface where they are not continually pounded by the surf. Had the plane indeed landed on the reef then the surf along with the coral would have shredded the aluminum skin to bit. Its conceivable that there are larger pieces that were carried further offshore.
My well-thought out opinion is that the Other's got them. Or the polar bear.
I'm with you up to this point. The ship was grounded on the reef. The wave action could not dislodge it. The airplane would not have been grounded on the reef, but would have been sitting on the reef on tires, where wave action could easily dislodge it. At the very least, large pieces, especially the engines, would have broken off and sunk.
As for the plane staying there, it probably did for at least a little while. Tides don't just rise, they come in with waves. Strong waves. Since Earhart and Noonan were both in the plane until the water reached near Earhart's knees, they would have definitely taken every precaution they could have to keep it still, as a way of assuring the engines would stay running.
If you look in the picture below, the Electra is not a small plane. The water probably killed the engine before it reached her knees, but it's still a long ways up to the engine from the ground. Odds are they landed with landing gear fully deployed, but did some sort of damage that prevented them from taking off again. Knowing their problem, and with rising water and, I'm sure, a planeload of tools, they could have kept it put and running for a while.
If you look in the picture below, the Electra's a tail-dragger (as all planes were of that era). That means they stayed in the plane at least long enough for 1/3 of the body to be beaten by the waves. They probably stayed longer to salvage everything they could. They probably would have also tried to secure it any way they could to keep it there incase they needed something they didn't have.
That plane was probably beaten into oblivion by WWII, but was most likely the wreckage discussed in 1938. It most likely stayed until either the landing gear completely broke off (very hard to do), it hovered off in a windstorm (very unlikely, but tradewinds can be strong), any tie-downs they may have fashioned eroded, or it was pushed off the reef by later inhabitants who didn't know it's significance.
Sorry for the veritable book, but I love stuff like this
If you look in the picture below, the Electra is not a small plane. The water probably killed the engine before it reached her knees, but it's still a long ways up to the engine from the ground. Odds are they landed with landing gear fully deployed, but did some sort of damage that prevented them from taking off again. Knowing their problem, and with rising water and, I'm sure, a planeload of tools, they could have kept it put and running for a while.
If you look in the picture below, the Electra's a tail-dragger (as all planes were of that era). That means they stayed in the plane at least long enough for 1/3 of the body to be beaten by the waves. They probably stayed longer to salvage everything they could. They probably would have also tried to secure it any way they could to keep it there incase they needed something they didn't have.
That plane was probably beaten into oblivion by WWII, but was most likely the wreckage discussed in 1938. It most likely stayed until either the landing gear completely broke off (very hard to do), it hovered off in a windstorm (very unlikely, but tradewinds can be strong), any tie-downs they may have fashioned eroded, or it was pushed off the reef by later inhabitants who didn't know it's significance.
Sorry for the veritable book, but I love stuff like this
Airplanes are difficult things to keep in one place, without them being securely tied down and chocked, options Earhart would have not had on a reef, especially in a rising tide. I believe it is logical to assume that the airplane would have been dislodged from the reef, in whole or in large part, by the incoming tide, and sunk on the island side. If they've already throughly searched the area around the reef and found no sign of the airplane or its huge Rolls Royce radial engines, then I'd have to question the current theory.