A reef in time!

[Gary LaPook]

I am sure AE and FN would have been aware of this event and, kept a mental note of it. I wouldn't be surprised either if the rescuers considered this option as well. Lambrecht mentioned a reef/beach landing as a contributing factor in the planning of searching the Phoenix group.
http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Letters/LambrechtGoerner.pdf

Before we all wet our panties out of excitement over the certainty that Earhart would have known of this event, think about how many flying accidents occur every year in the U.S. that you never hear about, only the major ones get national press coverage and the not major ones might get some local press coverage. This event didn't even have any dead people so just how far and wide do you think this  non fatal event, in a foreign country got disseminated? Quick, how many planes crashed in Zimbabwe last year? Something you can use to answer this question, TIGHAR has been researching the reef landing scenario for almost 30 years and they had never stumbled onto this story before.

The story did get some coverage in local Australian newspapers.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62775038?searchTerm=Seringapatam%20Reef&searchLimits=
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/68087398?searchTerm=Seringapatam%20Reef&searchLimits=
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/41770062?searchTerm=Seringapatam%20Reef&searchLimits=

The story does not show up in news.google.archive

It was carried in a British flying magazine Flight and I have attached the information page from the issue with the story. How may Americans do you think subscribed to this British publication? Do you think Earhart subscribed to every English language flying magazine in the world? I know I have trouble keeping up with just two, Flying and Pilot, both American magazines and there are many other American magazines so I have never felt a need to subscribe to any foreign ones. But since Earhart had an unlimited budget and unlimited time and staff I guess she could have subscribed to this magazine (but then she must also have subscribed to all the other British magazines.) But why stop there, she must also subscribe to Russian, French, Italian....etc., magazines and her staff could read and translate them for her and synopsize the interesting stories for her. I'm sure she told them to be on the lookout for stories about landing on reefs.

Give me a break!

gl

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

Being a part of a rather small group of pioneering aviators in the 30's it is obvious that each would not know what the other was doing after all, world record attempts were made every ten minutes  ;) I'm pretty sure that AE knew of Charles Lindberg, Amy Johnson, Kingsford Smith etc...and their goals and achievements.
Of course not every air crash makes headline news these days, there are as many aircraft around now as there were cars in those days. Besides, Joe Bloggs flying a string bag from his aunties wooden shack to the docks in Swaziland to pick up a sack of bird seed isn't going to make the newspapers, even if he crashed. Possibly a record attempt to fly from England to Australia might make the newspapers, more so if it ended up going wrong.
AE did actually stop over in Australia on her world record attempt, I'm sure one or two people of the six and a half million population might have mentioned the England to Australia attempts demise.

[Jeff Victor Hayden]

Agreed Jeff, it was a good decision to make a trial circuit and touch the wheels down to test the surface. With that good foresight a successful landing was accomplished. The lack of an aviation fuel dump on the reef somewhat curtailed any further progress but, they all escaped without serious injury.

[Martin X. Moleski, SJ]

Bob's son was riding in the back seat and was severely injured but survived and he told us that his father said, as they were on the approach to the farmer's field, that he was going to put the gear down to try to save the plane and minimize damage. If he had kept the wheels in the wells the plane would have slid on its belly, damaging the belly, but they both would have walked away. I actually suspect his very last thought was "why the $#@^& did I put the ^%$# gear down!"

A great--if tragic--story.  May Bob rest in peace.

It shows that even very seasoned pilots do things that you wouldn't have done.  This is why "coulda, woulda, shoulda" never leads to "did."  People make choices.  Sometimes they work out well; sometimes they don't. 

[Martin X. Moleski, SJ]

Before we all wet our panties out of excitement over the certainty that Earhart would have known of this event, think about how many flying accidents occur every year in the U.S. that you never hear about, only the major ones get national press coverage and the not major ones might get some local press coverage. This event didn't even have any dead people so just how far and wide do you think this  non fatal event, in a foreign country got disseminated?

Two words: Hangar [f]lying.

[Ric Gillespie]

Unless someone comes up with a letter from Paul Mantz to AE in which he says, "In a worst case you could always set down on a reef like those Brits did." we're never going to know whether AE or FN was aware of this incident.  If we argue that she "certainly would have" been aware of the incident we're making the same mistake Gary habitually makes.  The most important thing about this incident is that it shows, beyond doubt, the plausibilty of a course of action that was, until now, purely speculative. 

[C.W. Herndon]

Two words: Hangar [f]lying.

Now Marty, you are not being very nice to the pilots here. ::)

[Martin X. Moleski, SJ]

Two words: Hangar [f]lying.

Now Marty, you are not being very nice to the pilots here. ::)

Who do you think taught me the expression?   8)

[C.W. Herndon]

I can think of one or two suspects. ;D

[Dave Potratz]

Before we all wet our panties ...

'nother un-called for insult, I think, Gary, good natured or not.  Nobody's wetting anything.  Just using our imagination for...for...wait for it.....SPECULATION...repeat...spec-u-LAAAAAYYY-tion.

(yada, yada, yada)........But why stop there, she must also subscribe to Russian, French, Italian....etc., magazines and her staff could read and translate them for her and synopsize the interesting stories for her. I'm sure she told them to be on the lookout for stories about landing on reefs.

'nother straw man YOU created, then YOU knock 'im down.  Doesn't improve your argument.

Give me a break!

Gee whiz, please give US a break!

dp

[Rafael Krasnodebski]

Gary,
Your first point that a wheels down landing is more dangerous on a rough surface than a wheels up landing makes sense, but the resulting conjecture that it is therefore implausible is contradicted by the simple fact that both the Brits in the "Croydon" and your friend Bob did precisely that. Your second point, that flight accidents and magazines are ten a penny and therefore likely to remain unknown was, I believe, made out of historical context. Those were pioneering days. If what you say was as true then as it is today, Amelia would not have been the media star she was, her demise would not have been news in her day and we probably wouldn't be talking about her now. So sorry, but I prefer your technical and scientific challenges to your behavioural and historical critique.

[Gary LaPook]

Unless someone comes up with a letter from Paul Mantz to AE in which he says, "In a worst case you could always set down on a reef like those Brits did." we're never going to know whether AE or FN was aware of this incident.  If we argue that she "certainly would have" been aware of the incident we're making the same mistake Gary habitually makes.  The most important thing about this incident is that it shows, beyond doubt, the plausibilty of a course of action that was, until now, purely speculative.

I agree with you Ric, this is incontrovertible proof that you can land a plane on a reef, once. Got any more of these examples?

gl

[john a delsing]

As an aside, has TIGHAR considered trying to get Hollywood interested in a movie based off of the Niku hypothesis? 

Let's prove the case first.

  Ric,
this summer while you were out working, some of us 'back at the office' were playing, and the casting of the coming movie has already been determined; I think it went something like:

NOW PLAYING !

THE  SEVEN  SITE  CASTAWAY of  NIKUMORO

Staring   MADONA  as  the lovable AMELIIA

Fred 'the nerd' Noonan played by Gary 'the nerd' LaPook

Ric G. as Commissioner  Gallagher of the PISS core

*  Casting of which Tighar members will play the Nukuoro Crabs roles is being handled by Andrew as he screens your latest forum posts

[Ric Gillespie]

I agree with you Ric, this is incontrovertible proof that you can land a plane on a reef, once. Got any more of these examples?

I see your point.  I guess we're going to need to amend our hypothesis that Earhart spent the the rest of the morning shooting landings on the reef at Gardner.  New hypothesis: She and Noonan landed once - just like the crew of the ST-18 Croydon.

[Greg Daspit]

Here is an example if a plane that "landed" on a reef
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/40863594

This is what the plane looked like. This link said it "ditched".
http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austu/VH-UYW.html