Thanks Bruce and Chris for pointing out the Kanton reference. I've read everything in the wiki and looks like the Kanton possibility remains unresolved and historical efforts ended in a somewhat unsatisfying way.
Art Rypinski did a masterful presentation on the
Kanton Engine at EPAC in 2003. He did an analysis of the helicopter traffic in the Phoenix Islands, reported on logs, tracked down personnel who were there are the same time that Bruce Yoho was, and, if I remember correctly, brought in one of the pilots to talk with us. I was somewhat distracted because I was thinking more about the report that Roger and I were to give on
Bones II, so I didn't take careful notes, but at the end of Art's presentation I felt that he had shown beyond reasonable doubt that the engine had to have come from the wreck of the C-87 on Canton. It was like the climax of a Nero Wolfe novel where all the evidence pro and con was reviewed, given its due weight, and then fit into an overall picture that fits all of the facts.
I don't know why Art hasn't written up a report. It is a beautiful piece of detective work. When I drafted the Ameliapedia article, I was hoping that Art would fill in the missing pieces and complete the story. I'll add the last sentence from this 2007 summary to the article shortly:
"About this time, another story cropped up that seemed worth investigating. Supposedly, in 1970, the crew of a helicopter supporting USAF operations at Kanton Island, 200 miles northeast of Nikumaroro, spotted a radial aircraft engine on the western reef. Out of curiosity, the crew reportedly airlifted the engine back to Kanton where it eventually ended up in a dump. We inspected the dump but found that it had been bulldozed and filled in. Whatever was there in 1970 was now buried under several tons of coral rubble. Subsequent investigation revealed the story to be, although well intentioned, almost certainly apocryphal"
(TIGHAR Tracks, July 2007).Could it be, let's say if the story were accurate, that the pilot would be hesitant to come forward due to being cast in the negative light of having used the ship in such a frivolous/non-approved/potentially dangerous way?
Well, yes, of course, people do hesitate to confess stupid and potentially self-destructive behavior. We didn't take a vote after Art's presentation, but I would say there wasn't one person in the room who thought the Kanton hypothesis was even remotely possible after he finished speaking. It's far simpler to think that Bruce Yoho got confused than to imagine a pilot agreeing to sling the engine all the way from Niku to Kanton. From one side of Canton to the other, no problem--not embarrassing, not dangerous, not a big deal. I seem to remember Art telling us a story about the guys hauling an old cannon from one place to another just for the heck of it until some officer decided to put an end to the shenanigans by deep-sixing the cannon altogether.