Malcom's and Gary's special pleading that the Colorado pilots must have seen Earhart and Noonan if they were there dismisses the abundant evidence that they WERE there.
There is abundant evidence that somebody was there, but nothing conclusively proving that it was Earhart or Noonan.
gl
You're right Gary, In fact, the more we dig, the more we find quite a few people were there, in the 1890's, the Aussie newspapers speak of castaways in the 1920's, wrecks, shelters, then a Huge ship wreck in "29 leaving temporary castaways and debris, then "possibly' Fred and AE in '37, the natives arriving in '38, for 25 years.100 people for 25 years on a 4 mile long reef with few areas of real "land", can accumulate some clutter. And top it off with a Coast guard station. Hello. This was quite a happening place in the early century. These are ones we KNOW ABOUT. Emphasis on that.
We may think we are discovering new and unchartered lands, but somebody has probably walked it. Add to that Cyclones(hurricanes) and the place being under 3 feet of water, and ship garbage probably floating up with regularity.
When man starting moving around by motor in the early 1900's, we really started traveling.
And there were lots of causalities. I am sure more than two castaways.
Just because they are Americans and famous, doesn't mean they were "it".
Sometimes in our narrow view, we think Americans are so important, our bones would be the ones found. Bones are bones, none better than the rest.
Occams Razor would say given all the facts, it is unlikely ANY of this land debris is from AE.
Not that I am saying she wasn't there. She may well have been. Ric may well find her plane.
But this 4 mile land mass was more visited than first thought, lending little credence to bottles and planks. Ric and his team will indeed have to find the "idiot proof" evidence.
ZE PLANE BOSS, ZE PLANE.