Some additional thoughts...
AE and FN are flying along the LOP with a feeling of dread and impending doom. They spot Gardner in the distance and their hearts jump; they initially don't know if it isn't Howland. As as they get closer they again get a sinking feeling with the realization it isn't Howland and FN scrambles to identify it. Possibly FN does successfully identify or guess it to be Gardner, but why is there is no report of post loss transmissions referring to Gardner or similar? Ultimately, on the final approach they're feeling a lot better, believing it must be very clear to potential rescuers where they are and that they'll ultimately survive.
Still a ways out from Gardner it is wholly clear they will be compelled to land the craft on this small atoll. They know they are running on fumes and there might not be enough fuel to reach the island, much less to make multiple inspection runs. Perhaps, though, they do make one or two low passes. If so, from the air traveling 150 MPH how clearly could they identify the depth of water on the reef ledge? Would tide have been low enough for the reef to have been exposed? If exposed, would an aerial inspection reveal that the reef was smoother out closer to the edge? How could they have told the difference of a water depth of one or ten feet? Do the engines sputter on their first approach to the island and do they simply crash land at the closest point?
I wonder what the depth profile is from the sandy beach out to the edge of the reef? From the sandy beach is there a drop off of eight or ten feet and then back up to the sometimes exposed outer reef or is the depth uniform from the sandy beach out?
Yes, to the degree that the pilot maintains control and the ship will move, assuming there isn't an area of deep water, the best idea would appear to have been to taxi the craft as close to the sandy beach as possible, away from the dangerous surf and reef edge. Probably, however, shortly after touch down they were just along for the bumpy ride with essentially no control of the craft.
I wonder, had the ship come to rest closer to the sandy beach, further away from the pounding surf, would the flyover of July 9th identified the Electra and the outcome have been very, very different?