From a TIGHAR member:

I’ll say this, that I did not learn anything new that I did not already know from TIGHAR. I thought Ric and TIGHAR received good coverage. I also think Ric was quoted more than Ballard or just as much. In any event I did enjoy watching it, and the tie in flashbacks were nice.

I watched it last night. I have to say I was riveted. I thought it was a great show and your organization was represented well.

From a TIGHAR member:

I thought that it was very well done and only had positive things to say about you and TIGHAR. I enjoyed it. I wasn’t expecting to see you in so many of the clips that they used. I really liked the way they went back and forth between her story and the expedition. I also liked Bob’s positive comments on TIGHAR’s Hypothesis.

The best part of the NG documentary was your parts... watching endless shots of Bob Ballard find little of value (except a hat) turned that portion of the show into a giant nothing-burger. I understand he didn’t find anything – it doesn't take 2 hrs to tell me that. The forensic evidence regarding the skull and such was tantalizing but, again, produced a “meh” effect of “more needs to be done” so the viewer really needed something of value. Same with the search dogs – nothing found, cold stuff if DNA is found in the soil samples but watching search dogs find nothing is not the way most viewers/researchers wish to spend 2 hrs. If it brings in the money necessary to go again, GREAT! But as far as the National Geographic portion of the show went, it was underwhelming at best.

I was surprised and thrilled that NG gave TIGHAR so much air time. I thought that Ric and the rest of the TIGHAR members that were featured did a great job explaining TIGHAR’s position on what they thought happened to AE and FN. I like the way that NG weaved Amelia’s life and the current search together. Overall I thought it was a win/win for National Geographic and TIGHAR.

Congrats on a nice show. It looks like Ballard came up empty so far, but he seemed still confounded by the transmissions after the fact.

There was considerably more background material on Amelia’s life than I had anticipated. Surprisingly little new evidence for all the effort/expense. Really liked the imaging of the island, showing its incredibly steep slope from off the reef edge. Surprised that Ric wasn’t included on board the main research vessel. Glad that at least two TIGHAR members were on board and included in video. Several positive comments about the TIGHAR hypothesis and key aspects pointing to Niku as being the right place to search.

I really enjoyed the show. I thought it interesting that Mr. Ballard talked about the credible radio signals and how important they are. You can tell he deals in real scientific method instead of “throw it against the wall and see if it sticks” theories. I thought the program showed TIGHAR in a very positive light, and did a nice job of pointing out how much real research your group has done.

I was thrilled to see that TIGHAR had such a presence in the special, you certainly should have, and it seemed that TIGHAR was treated with respect and not made to look like a bunch of goofballs. The special seemed accurate to me, based on all the reading I’ve done on Amelia and TIGHAR. It was nice to have a recap of Amelia’s story and the evidence that has been gathered so far. I thought the way they told the “story” of the evidence that has been gathered so far was presented in a good order/sequence.

Not sure if they said what was being done with the bones that they found (are the DNA results in yet?? If not, when/how will they be announced? That’s my only lingering question.

I really loved seeing Betty’s notebook and the mention of the work TIGHAR did with the post-loss radio signals. I remember reading the paper on that and it was incredibly interesting. The interviews with Ric were great because he is so good at telling the story in a factual way, without making grandiose claims. He has theories but he is realistic in his presentation of them. Seeing some of the artifacts he’s collected was really neat too.

The conclusion I came away with was that TIGHAR’s theory has not been ruled out, by any means. There is a lot of strong evidence that can’t be discredited.

From a TIGHAR member:

Expedition Amelia surprised me in that I was afraid it was going to be the “how great is Bob Ballard show;” I was pleased to see the number of references to TIGHAR and the amount of screen time given to you. I do wish they would have spent a few additional seconds on TIGHAR as an organization and the depth and breadth of the research that’s been done over the last 30 years.

From a TIGHAR member:

It fit the typical National Geographic program formula. However, since it was mostly about Robert Ballard’s work I was hoping for a more detailed conclusive conclusion/analysis that Amelia's plane wasn’t in the water off Niku island. I didn’t come away with that.

They seemed to use all TIGHAR historical data but the program concluded Amelia’s plane was somewhere else. I feel a bit outraged at that.

Bob Ballard and Nat Geo could not have honored your decades of solid, serious research more than they did last night. I kept hoping that they would pluck up some solid fragment from the depths even though I suspected there was nothing extraordinary to be revealed. They just did not advertise the special that much so I was tempered in my expectations.

But every major line of inquiry led directly to an on camera interview or film clip of all of you that I have read about or met at the National Press Club. While the results were disappointing, the validation of TIGHAR’s research principles and ethical aircraft archeology was encouraging and validating.

Well, after much anticipation and some fundamental knowledge from following TIGHAR over the previous years, this 2 hour program left me totally in the dark. So very much factual evidence was left out or omitted and virtually all of TIGHAR’s evidence was demeaned by omission. The short film clip of Amelia’s last take off, distinctly shows the “puff” of dirt as the lower antennae departs the aircraft and absolutely no mention was made of this important fact! The evidence as we know it regarding the forensic analysis of the bone measurements as compared to existing photographs was also summarily omitted and very obviously confirm a high probability of confirmation regarding TIGHAR’s theory that the bones found at the camp site are indeed those of Amelia.

All of you at TIGHAR, should be commended for a job well done on your part, the evidence as you present it dictates its own “truth” as it pertains to Amelia!

From a TIGHAR member:

“You done good.” Professional. Empathetic.

If I were Robert Ballard, I would sue National Geographic for the abomination of their show re: his expedition to Gardner atoll.

This National Geographic television production was a unmitigated disaster. It lacked any semblance of coherence. It was a mishmash of non-related scenes cobbled together – A/E’s background intercut with TIGHAR’s Gillespie’s on-camera exposition, with the Ballard expedition back and forth incessantly, and compounding the incoherence was the incessant insertion of interminable commercials – a crippling fault.

“Expedition Amelia” was very much what I expected in content and tone, maybe slightly exceeding my expectations. With some friends, we made an evening of it with a watching party. We enjoyed watching it together, and some of us were already very familiar with the Niku hypothesis and TIGHAR research.

The show was, to my understanding of the events, historically accurate and well told. This included Amelia’s personal life, the story of her aviation career, the efforts at the world flight, and the loss. Somehow the show painted Amelia as a heroic and sympathetic character, and yet honestly admitted that she should have learned how to use the radio. Well done.

TIGHAR was treated fairly, as far as I can tell. Ric was on camera many times and said about as much as I thought possible to sell the viewer on the Niku hypothesis while remaining honest about the circumstantial nature of all available evidence.

It is important to make clear that I have a prior interest in the Earhart loss and have read most of TIGHAR’s materials over the years. I understand enough about the 1940 bones to know that there is no established link between the lost 1940 bones and any bones which happen to be in the Tarawa Museum.

I thought it was very well done and insofar as I know it was historically accurate. I thought TIGHAR was very well depicted and although nothing was found (this time) I believe TIGHAR’s theory on Ms. Earhart’s demise is the most likely one (Occam’s Razor).

Please keep up your outstanding work.

From a TIGHAR member:

The documentary was basically what I expected. No major surprises. It seemed historically accurate, with the usual amounts of gushing praise for AE. The format – back and forth between AE’s life and the modern search –> was a little confusing. It might bore some people if they aren't paying attention. I thought TIGHAR was treated fairly. The Bevington Photo sequence was well-done. Betty’s Notebook was shortchanged – not enough emphasis on how important it is.

The Tarawa skull is irrelevant. Not AE. If it was her skull, where are the other bones and the kanawa box? Did Kimmerle and Hiebert consider that?

A couple of little things: I was miffed that they showed a picture of AE with British pilot Amy Johnson, but didn't identify Johnson by name. She should be better known! Towards the end it was implied that “personnel unfitness” meant “Noonan’s drinking problem.” Misleading and unfair to Noonan.

Entirely too much time (one scene) was spent “comparing” photos of AE and Irene Bolam. Goodnight, Irene (and that ludicrous idea).

I enjoyed the National Geographic program. However, it was a bit light on TIGHAR accomplishments. I have been following TIGHAR for years & have been impressed by their work.

My major impression was that Robert Ballard performed significant scanning around the island & found exactly nothing.

From a TIGHAR member:

Watching Ballard and others on the program, I couldn’t help but think that their knowledge and understanding of TIGHAR’s research and findings was limited to a quick thumb-through of an out-of-date CliffsNotes on the subject.

I expected them to have some dramatic moments where they find something promising, only to find out later after analyzing it that it was nothing.

I thought the treatment of TIGHAR was fair. The theory that she landed there is based on solid facts, but obviously nothing has been proven yet. We all want it to be true...

I found it to be very informative on progress since 1991, the high tech approach (and thoroughness) of Ballard’s team, and great info on her upbringing and life in general. There were a lot of film and pictures that I hadn’t seen.

I believe TIGHAR was treated fairly, although there wasn’t much built on based on the relics found on the island already, and the odds of these being there. To me, these are smoking guns, unless someone found these elsewhere, and brought them to the island. But honestly, highly unlikely. I wasn’t too convinced with the use of cadaver dogs, however it was probably because I found myself worrying about them being attacked by those creature-like crabs! I think TIGHAR came off as very reputable, scientific, and yet cautious about full blown conclusions.

It was fact-based and the footage of Ballard and the search was what I expected. It seems that when you deal with Amelia Earhart and searches to find out what happens, it always seems nothing comes up. I think the show could have been condensed into an hour because most of it was Ballard finding nothing and the archeologists doing the same. Tantalizing anecdotes and pieces of fact, but nothing conclusive at all. Ballard came off well as did Ric Gillespie; I’m glad they didn’t venture at all into cuckoo land conspiracies. They could have fleshed out the history of the flight and search a bit more; I did appreciate the new snippet of footage found of Amelia posing with some British aviator before she disappeared. So that was good. Overall, I’d say a solid B Plus.

Sorry, TIGHAR, but after the show, I came away now supporting the idea they crashed into the ocean (“far away”) rather than survived although I have an open mind.

My husband and I watched the Nat Geo show – fascinating.

We were very interested for most of the show and had hoped you found her plane or irrefutable DNA evidence of the lost bones. Just a minor comment, I wish more time was focused on your research findings and less on her accomplishments. Okay, far less.

Another fantastic job by your team! I watched a show a few years back when you project was in it, but this one was just as good. I wish they would provide you with a season special or multi-part special such as the likes of Oak Island.

I think NatGeo portrayed TIGHAR very reputably and with reverence of the work you have accomplished. I do wish that they would have given you more credit than they did to Mr. Ballard, however, I see why they did so, they feel that Mr. Ballard is more of a household name due to his finding of the Titanic, so therefore in order to promote the show to a larger audience, they capitalized on his work. I do think that this brought great publicity and acknowledgement to your team and the historic work you have all worked so tirelessly for over the decades.

From a TIGHAR member:

The show was mostly what I hoped for, although, of course, I was more hopeful that Bob Ballard would find airplane parts with all his technological toys. The interspersed bits about Amelia herself were interesting. I do believe that, from what I can recall reading on TIGHAR pages and in Finding Amelia it was historically accurate.

I thought TIGHAR was treated pretty fairly, though I would have liked to see a little more explanation concerning the patch. I don’t think the importance of that particular item came across well, nor did they describe the many reasons (so far) to believe that it is from Amelia’s Electra.

I really didn’t believe the land search would turn up anything, as they were literally going over the same ground TIGHAR has gone over many times, and with nothing new to bring to the table.

I do not believe that the skull examined has anything to do with the bones found on Niku. I look forward to hearing what TIGHAR members have to say regarding the show.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for allowing people like to me to react to the special. Yes, the show was what I expected as far as quality and information. But hearing so many new facts and information made me question and want to know more; so the show raised more questions for me. And even though it is not surprising that Mr. Ballard and his team could not find any piece of Amelia’s plane; it is still very disappointing.

I read every word of the TIGHAR report on all of the radio transmissions that were sent to and received from Amelia and Fred. That report is amazing! I felt like I knew exactly what Amelia went through those days. Why isn’t there a documentary made highlighting all of the fantastic research and the findings about all of the radio transmissions? This research is fascinating and proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Amelia lived several days after landing on Gardner Island and it helps us understand what she and Fred suffered.

I thought it was tastefully done. My dad was born in 1912 and remembered the whole thing. He said he always believed she landed on the island and perished there. I really enjoyed the show since Ive always been fascinated with the story. Looking forward to more discoveries!!

The show was what I expected - given that they found nothing. The expedition details were interesting, particularly the technology and operations at sea. The background for the AE story was OK for the most part but lacked some details around the radio communications issues & facts. I thought TIGHAR was prominent in the story, more so than I thought necessary to convey that this was an independent expedition to find AE airplane wreckage/remnants. With credit due to TIGHAR for the unproven hypothesis that the plane and crew wound up near Gardner Island.