"incontrovertible proof"?? Sorry, Gary. Finding the airworthiness certificate in a box of memorabilia owned by an aircraft mechanic who worked for Paul Mantz is certainly not " incontrovertible proof ". An interesting keepsake for sure, but no proof of anything, other than maybe that the plane didn't crash and sink, at least not with that certificate aboard as it doesn't appear to be water damaged. I guess one could say that the plane could have water landed and been recovered floating and that would explain the certificate not getting wet. Problem is, according to the radio experts and the post-loss radio transmissions that are credible, the plane couldn't transmit while floating. That doesn't preclude the possibility that the plane landed on a beach or reef, trnsmitted, and then washed away to be recovered while floating around. That leads to another issue, for the plane to have been recovered, either from a beach/reef or afloat, a salvage ship would have been required. Remember, there were no heavy-lift helicopters in 1937. A ship large enough to hoist the plane aboard would have to have a reasonable large crew. I find it hard to believe, though not impossible, that not one crewmember ever mentioned to anyone having salvaged the plane or crew. I giess that the plane could have been disassembled if on shore and then packed and shipped back to California and that is how the certificate made its way into the mechanics box. I think it much more likely that the mechanic obtained the certificate while repairing the plane after the failed first attempt. I understand that planes can't legally fly without the certificate aboard. In my limited flight experience I have never once seen a pilot waving the certificate out the window so the tower can see it before receiving permission to take off. I think a plane can fly just fine without that peice of paper aboard, just as unregistered cars can drive just fine or unlicensed drivers as well. For the record, I've written lots of tickets to unlicensed drivers and drivers of unreistered/uninsured cars so I can tell you from first hand experience that not having a piece of paper does not prevent the car, or plane for that matter, from functioning just fine. As far as proof goes, if that certificate had been found nailed to a wall (or maybe held iin place by the mystery clips) in a shack on Nikumararu it would carry more weight as to the plane having been there than it does having been found in a box owned by an aircraft mechanic in California with a connection to the plane through Paul Mantz. Same goes for any serialized parts. Find me a part from the plane in California that you can prove came from the plane after it left Lae and I'll believe the plane was recovered. Find me a part on Nikumararu and I'm more inclined to believe the flight ended there. Find me a substantial part of the airframe itself and not a replacable part and I'll believe you've found the plane. I think the mechanic obtained the certificate while the plane was being repaired and kept it as a momento. Would anyone have noticed that it wasn't there before or at any point during the flight(s)? If it had been noticed, would anyone have really considered it a big enough deal to delay the flight(s) or announce that it was missing? I still believe that the plane landed on Nikumararu and that parts of it are still there today. There is simply too much evidence to support that. The airworthines certificate does nothing to refute that, at least not to me. LTM, -John