posted
That Earhart Mystery article was good, especially that one lady's account of receiving a shortwave radio call which possibly came from Earhart. Creepy.
Registered: Feb 2005
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It's a bit worrying, the apparent sheer incompetency of the search for Earhart. "We've got radio signals. There's a ship two days away? Nah, send the one that's four days off. Surely nothing could happen to them in the meantime." "Look, someone seems to have been living on this island. Can't see anyone now, though? Oh, well, must be nothing, then." "You heard a radio signal that started 'this is Amelia Earhart'? How's that relevant?"
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
If she was better looking, they'd have searched harder.
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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Except, TSN, they never reached land. All of the islands within the region were searched. There was one where stuff was found, but it was from someone else, years earlier, whose shoes were way too small to ever fit her feet, etc.
The Coast Guard ship that was waiting on-station heard her radio messages, but either something had broken or she accidentally had her receiver turned off, because she wasn't hearing anything they sent. Signal strength showed she was about eight miles away from the ship at closest approach. The radioman even went out on deck briefly, to see if he could see or hear the plane.
Odds are they got their heading screwed up by the storm they flew through, misidentified an island they saw after clearing, and so didn't correct, and ended up running out of fuel and splashing down less than a hundred miles North of their target. The search area is narrowing.
--Jonah
-------------------- "That's what I like about these high school girls, I keep getting older, they stay the same age."
--David "Woody" Wooderson, Dazed and Confused
Registered: Feb 2001
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"The Coast Guard ship that was waiting on-station heard her radio messages, but either something had broken or she accidentally had her receiver turned off, because she wasn't hearing anything they sent."
That's when she was still flying. According to the article, people in the States were hearing messages from her after she disappeared, and they were ignored.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Which is, unfortunately, impossible to document reliably. In 1937 there were no unalterable computer timestamps to prove when a message was received. I want to trust these people, but I also know how far people will go to get on the news. At this stage of the game, petty recriminations won't find her, so those accounts can be noted with interest and then backburnered until the Electra is found. Then see if the details match any of the physical evidence.
They left New Guinea and ran into a storm, which forced them to fly low and burn more fuel, and they had a headwind the entire rest of the leg, further reducing fuel efficiency and potentially throwing off Fred's position estimate. The account of the Itasca radioman is pretty fascinating, too.
In the end, her plane probably ditched less than twenty miles North of where the Itasca was anchored.
Moral: Wait for the weather to totally clear when doing risky flying. And carry redundant safety gear, weight be damned.
--Jonah
-------------------- "That's what I like about these high school girls, I keep getting older, they stay the same age."
--David "Woody" Wooderson, Dazed and Confused
Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
I must be missing something in that profile of Chris Dodd, because I don't get it.
Registered: Mar 1999
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Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
Member # 343
posted
:::sighs::: I guess I have to kill the funny.
# Military Career: U.S. House of Representatives, 1975-81 # Previous Elective Office: None
-------------------- "The French have a saying: 'mise en place'—keep everything in its fucking place!"
Registered: Jun 2000
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Shik
Starship database: completed; History of Starfleet: done; website: probably never
Member # 343
posted
HAPPY CHERNOBYL DAY!!
That's right, everyone's favorite reactor accident is 21 years young today! So let's get it all a bottle of your favorite vodka & raise a glass! Remember, it's fantastic radiation protection!
-------------------- "The French have a saying: 'mise en place'—keep everything in its fucking place!"
Registered: Jun 2000
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![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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