bbc article

[richie conroy]

surely they r all sealed tanks or the fumes alone would kill them lol i was thinking more ov the antenna breaking off but then thought what if it landed were there was a crevice  an the antenna survived the flip over  :o yeah that didnt happen  :D just me an theory's

[Don Dollinger]

surely they r all sealed tanks or the fumes alone would kill them

Actually they would be vented outside of the aircraft.

LTM,

Don

[richie conroy]

the last radio log received by Itasca they were still in the air, but soon after the engines stalled cos ov no fuel so on gliding to land on gardener if there plane were to flip then any dregs left in tank would be enuff to rotate engine enuff to send mayday,

i only ask cos if they were going down an engines were running, there would surely be mayday calls heard or logged  an i have not come across any yet ?

[richie conroy]

also if i remember correctly the overflow ov tanks went back into tanks

[Don Dollinger]

the last radio log received by Itasca they were still in the air, but soon after the engines stalled cos ov no fuel so on gliding to land on gardener if there plane were to flip then any dregs left in tank would be enuff to rotate engine enuff to send mayday,

i only ask cos if they were going down an engines were running, there would surely be mayday calls heard or logged  an i have not come across any yet ?

Post loss messages show (if in fact they are actually from the Electra) that they were able to run the engines as they needed to run the right hand engine to be able to use the radio which would more then likely indicate that they landed the Electra intact.

That is not to say that there were no mayday calls, just that they were not received until the post loss messages after landing on Gardner.    They were obviously experiencing some type of radio problems on the flight to Howland and perhaps it got worse (i.e., was no longer transmitting either).  This would not be the first time that they experiencied radio problems and gonna use that 'bad word" but they "could of" found a radio problem such as another blown fuse and fixed it once they landed thus restoring their ability to at least transmit again. 

Put yourself in that situation.  If your engines are running and you are looking for a place to land, is their actually a May Day?  Sure your low on fuel but not out and because your not sure where you are on the North/South line, for all you know you may be way North of Howland and still end up flying right over it.  If not, then you are on track to find an alternate landing location (Phoenix Island Group).   After landing, you assess the situation and send out the post loss messages in hopes of rescue.  Not so sure I, in that situation, would have bothered continuing to broadcast in flight as I have not gotten responses so I am not sure the radio is even working. 

Lastly, and I am no expert on the Electra and know I will be corrected if wrong, but doubt seriously that they would be able to run the Electra engine while upside down on the reef.

LTM,

Don

[richie conroy]

cheers for reply don

just trying to think of reasons why the electra is or was teasingly out of sight in 1937 images

also when i think of what i would do in that situation, me i would of got on that shipwreck the norwhich an would of seeked shelter

has any 1 ever actully been right thru the ship to see if there was any evidence amelia or fred visited it ?

[richie conroy]

how can it be possible that the crew of the norwich city were rescued in 7 days in middle of no were, yet they couldnt find amelia earhart even though they knew location from poss radio signals

[richie conroy]

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=-4.654331,-174.539634&spn=0.001628,0.002411&t=h&z=19&vpsrc=6

is this a bit of outer reef 20 meters out from shore line ?

[richie conroy]

really sorry for last post http://archaeology.about.com/b/2009/10/26/whatever_happened_to_amelia_earhart.htm

just the person who replies in comments on this site i.e David Billings, i feel was very disrespectful towards tighar members

will not happen again  :-[

[Gary LaPook]

the last radio log received by Itasca they were still in the air, but soon after the engines stalled cos ov no fuel so on gliding to land on gardener if there plane were to flip then any dregs left in tank would be enuff to rotate engine enuff to send mayday,

i only ask cos if they were going down an engines were running, there would surely be mayday calls heard or logged  an i have not come across any yet ?

---------------------------------

Like in your car, the fuel pickups in the fuel tanks on the plane are in the bottom of the tanks so if the plane was upside down, even if the tanks were full, the engine could not run. You couldn't run your car's engine if your car was upside down either.

gl

[Monty Fowler]

how can it be possible that the crew of the norwich city were rescued in 7 days in middle of no were, yet they couldnt find amelia earhart even though they knew location from poss radio signals

That's an easy one - because the Norwich City's radio operator stayed with it long enough to get out an SOS with a precise position as the ship exploded and burned around him. It's a whole lot easier to find the needle in the haystack if the thread is still tied to it, if you get my meaning.

Sadly, in Amelia's case, the ball was dropped, and dropped very, very badly, by a number of people and agencies. Monday morning quarterbacking 74 years after the event doesn't change the fact that mistakes were made and, unfortunately, two people died before the right kind of help could get to them in time.

LTM,
Monty Fowler
TIGHAR No. 2189CER

P.S. - thank you for the link to that story on About.com, Richie. I couldn't help but notice who the Oct. 8, 2011, poster was ... which was good for a chuckle.

[richie conroy]

in all honesty i didnt read past comment 2 as i was that bemused by david billings post, as Ric has in my view backed all his questions with answers as has tighar, and have answered questions with evidence  :) 

[Chris Johnson]

how can it be possible that the crew of the norwich city were rescued in 7 days in middle of no were, yet they couldnt find amelia earhart even though they knew location from poss radio signals

That's an easy one - because the Norwich City's radio operator stayed with it long enough to get out an SOS with a precise position as the ship exploded and burned around him. It's a whole lot easier to find the needle in the haystack if the thread is still tied to it, if you get my meaning.

Sadly, in Amelia's case, the ball was dropped, and dropped very, very badly, by a number of people and agencies. Monday morning quarterbacking 74 years after the event doesn't change the fact that mistakes were made and, unfortunately, two people died before the right kind of help could get to them in time.

LTM,
Monty Fowler
TIGHAR No. 2189CER

P.S. - thank you for the link to that story on About.com, Richie. I couldn't help but notice who the Oct. 8, 2011, poster was ... which was good for a chuckle.

I miss Mr Van S, the forum is less electric without his 'smurf isms' ;)

[richie conroy]

prob been asked before but i haven't come across it yet in forums, i wonder y amelia or fred didnt do a SOS or HELP in the sand around island or stay were they could be seen if a plane flew over ?

[Ric Gillespie]

prob been asked before but i haven't come across it yet in forums, i wonder y amelia or fred didnt do a SOS or HELP in the sand around island

There's no sand on that beach.  It's all coral rubble.  The might have laid out a message with cut vegetation but they they would have to be expecting an aerial search and, as  far as they knew, theirs was the only airplane in that part of the world.

or stay were they could be seen if a plane flew over ?

Again, there was no reason for them to expect an aerial search.