Excellent questions. Thanks Greg.
Approximately how far away was Emily Sikuli from the object she described?
A long way. If she was standing on the beach and the object was on the reef flat "where the waves break" at low tide she was about 500 feet away.
What is a plausible explanation for how the tire could come off and the rest of the landing gear still be connected to the plane in a vertical position?
In the nearly three years since it went over the edge, the aircraft had been subject to extensive abrasive encounters with the coral, including being flipped at least once, possibly repeatedly. The tire was frangible compared to the rest of the landing gear and could easily have been torn off. Recall that the tire was also gone from the fabled "Wheel of Fortune."
Emily did not draw anything that looks like a "worm gear”. The landing gear in the TT illustration has the worm gear removed.
What is a plausible explanation for how the worm gear could come off the oleo strut and and it still be connected to the plane in the vertical position?
That's tougher to explain. I agree, the worm gear should have still been attached but it would be low on the inverted strut and possibly obscured by breaking waves.
How was it determined the line Emily Sikuli drew was "vertical"?
I'm not sure people draw things exactly as they would see them in a photo or accurate perspective. Sometimes they draw as an illustration of what they think it is, not as if represented like taking a photo.
Emily had no idea what part of the plane the object was. She was merely making a sketch of what she remembers seeing 59 years earlier. After she marked the location on the map, I asked her to sketch what she had seen. She flipped the map over and drew the object as a vertical line with a circular shape at the upper tip.
Can you share the video of the interview with Emily for context. Did the video capture her doing the drawing?
The full interview with Emily (and other TIGHAR videos including the full Betty Klenck interview) is available to Patron level subscribers via the
TIGHAR Patreon page. After you sign up on Patreon, I send you the link and password to the Vimeo TIGHAR Premium Video collection. Yes, the video shows her marking the map and making the sketch.
Does the reef edge near the object have a "Reef Crest”? This being a small narrow ridge at the edge of the flat part just before it slopes down.
No, the reef flat transitions smoothly into the "spur and groove" area.