TIGHAR

Project Midnight Ghost => General Discussion => Topic started by: Martin X. Moleski, SJ on October 24, 2010, 03:49:24 PM

Title: New Evidence on l'Oiseau Blanc (Project Midnight Ghost)
Post by: Martin X. Moleski, SJ on October 24, 2010, 03:49:24 PM
From Karen Hoy:

"Fresh clues hint doomed transatlantic flight reached Canada" (http://www.montrealgazette.com/Fresh+clues+hint+doomed+transatlantic+flight+reached+Canada/3660609/story.html)

Project Midnight Ghost (http://tighar.org/wiki/Project_Midnight_Ghost)
Title: Re: New Evidence on l'Oiseau Blanc (Project Midnight Ghost)
Post by: James G. Stoveken on October 24, 2010, 08:10:50 PM
Interesting.  Thanks for posting the link.  My first reaction is that the prevailing ocean current wouldn't have carried the wings toward Boston but in the opposite direction.  Thoughts?
Title: Re: New Evidence on l'Oiseau Blanc (Project Midnight Ghost)
Post by: Martin X. Moleski, SJ on October 24, 2010, 09:05:59 PM
Interesting.  Thanks for posting the link.  My first reaction is that the prevailing ocean current wouldn't have carried the wings toward Boston but in the opposite direction.  Thoughts?

I'm not an oceanographer, but I've visited an olive farm planted by one (may he rest in peace).

(http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/thumb/5/55/Howard_olive_farm.jpg/320px-Howard_olive_farm.jpg)

I suspect that it is not a simple situation.  The Gulf Stream is a deep ocean current that runs clockwise (more or less) in the Atlantic basin; but that doesn't mean that surface currents follow suit.  It seems to me that it would not be unreasonable to suppose that temporary or recurrent wind and wave patterns might carry debris in a direction counter to the Gulf Stream.  

This image from http://www.anthonares.net (http://) suggests that there is a deep return flow that goes southward along the Atlantic coast:

(http://www.anthonares.net/gulf_stream_1.png)

The famous rubber duckies (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-464768/Thousands-rubber-ducks-land-British-shores-15-year-journey.html) seem to have floated south along the coast.

To calculate the odds of the wings drifting to where the Coast Guard saw them, you need some facts and some guesses.  How long was the sighting after the loss of the plane?  Where do you think the plane came down?  How rare and unusual a circumstance would you need to get the wings from the crash site to the Coast Guard ship that might have seen them?  
Title: Re: New Evidence on l'Oiseau Blanc (Project Midnight Ghost)
Post by: Monty Fowler on October 29, 2010, 02:33:02 PM
Tantalizing to say the least ...
Title: Re: New Evidence on l'Oiseau Blanc (Project Midnight Ghost)
Post by: Monty Fowler on October 31, 2010, 03:12:45 PM
Now that I have had a bit if time to ponder, with the few details in this story, would it not tend to negate most of the TIGHAR and NUMA theories, that the White Bird ended up on land?

Still, two "white wings" found floating in the ocean three months later don't have too many other likely suspects. Even though the White Bird jettisoned its gear on takeoff and was theoretically supposed to be able to land on the water, and float for some time, I don't fancy trying to land a non-seaplane on anything other than a mirror-flat body of water and have it come out OK. The chances of catching a wingtip or doing a noseover are just that much greater than with a proper seaplane, especially if they had to attempt it at night or under reduced visibility. Still, it looks more and more like they did make it.
Title: Re: New Evidence on l'Oiseau Blanc (Project Midnight Ghost)
Post by: Walter Runck on February 24, 2011, 08:49:02 PM
From Karen Hoy:

"Fresh clues hint doomed transatlantic flight reached Canada" (http://www.montrealgazette.com/Fresh+clues+hint+doomed+transatlantic+flight+reached+Canada/3660609/story.html)


Looks like a busted link.  Is the article archived somewhere within Tighartown?
Title: Re: New Evidence on l'Oiseau Blanc (Project Midnight Ghost)
Post by: James G. Stoveken on February 24, 2011, 09:13:27 PM
Walter, here (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:g9v5W9G9YWQJ:www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/reader-comments/Fresh%2Bclues%2Bhint%2Bdoomed%2Btransatlantic%2Bflight%2Breached%2BCanada/3660609/story.html%3Fid%3D3660609+l%27Oiseau+Blanc+montreal+gazette&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com) is the article from Google's cache.
Title: Re: New Evidence on l'Oiseau Blanc (Project Midnight Ghost)
Post by: Walter Runck on February 25, 2011, 05:04:45 PM
Walter, here (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:g9v5W9G9YWQJ:www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/reader-comments/Fresh%2Bclues%2Bhint%2Bdoomed%2Btransatlantic%2Bflight%2Breached%2BCanada/3660609/story.html%3Fid%3D3660609+l%27Oiseau+Blanc+montreal+gazette&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com) is the article from Google's cache.

Thanks James.  Is any of the detail on the Coast Guard sighting available?