Did Earhart Leave Her Life Raft Behind?

[C.W. Herndon]

But don't forget that the PISS people examined a lot more of the island and cleared areas for planting coconut palms and they did not report finding any life rafts, parachutes or any other stuff that can be traced to Eahart.
gl

Yes, that is true, but based on what I have read about their culture, I doubt they would have reported much that they personally found there if they thought they could use it. Mostly just my opinion.

[Don Dollinger]

But don't forget that the PISS people examined a lot more of the island and cleared areas for planting coconut palms and they did not report finding any life rafts, parachutes or any other stuff that can be traced to Eahart.

Agreed, but that is not to say that any items were NOT found just that they were not reported.  IMHO, I would not think that inconsequntial items would be reported nor would they necessarily have been attributed to Earhart unless her or Noonan's names were emblazoned on them.  They obviously attained aircraft aluminum that they may have brought with them or more than likely found it there and just regarded it as flotsam.  I think the inconsequential items reported with the bones was just because they were found with the bones.  Do you think a bottle and an empty sextant box found on the island without the bones would have been reported?

LTM,

Don

[Bob Lanz]

But don't forget that the PISS people examined a lot more of the island and cleared areas for planting coconut palms and they did not report finding any life rafts, parachutes or any other stuff that can be traced to Eahart.
gl

Yes, that is true, but based on what I have read about their culture, I doubt they would have reported much that they personally found there if they thought they could use it. Mostly just my opinion.

Exactly Woody, that would have been like "manna" from heaven to the settlers, closely held and used for a myriad of purposes and taken with them when they left.  And may I say, long before TIGHAR got there to pick through the fragments that were left i.e. the proverbial "needle in a haystack".

[dave burrell]

Chris of course you are free to your opinions.
Mine is that Ric has only so much time left. He isn't 20.
Perhaps only so many expeditions remaining.
So do they continue to spend the remaining time and resources hunting
Fred's watch in Coral grid pits, and chopping vines all day in the heat, or spend it on the reef face? It isn't like 7 other expeditions has given definite proof on land.
Plus, I bet the older members like the boat better. :)

[Chris Johnson]

Also don't forget that items such as the life raft and kite 'IF' on the island were perishable and likley not to be as recognisable once the island is inhabited.

Don't forget also that the island colonization stagnated after Gallaghers death so it was only later that the more areas of the island were cleared.  Yet more time for items to perish or change apprearance.

[Gary LaPook]

Also don't forget that items such as the life raft and kite 'IF' on the island were perishable and likley not to be as recognisable once the island is inhabited.

Don't forget also that the island colonization stagnated after Gallaghers death so it was only later that the more areas of the island were cleared.  Yet more time for items to perish or change apprearance.

I don't know how perishable a life raft is, I still have mine and it is 40 years old and still holds air.

gl

[Chris Johnson]

Gary,

where do you keep it?  Does it get regular exposure to UV and the elements?

[Martin X. Moleski, SJ]

... By comparing the "seven site" to the area entire island, shown in picture 3, how much of the island would you guess has been searched? One percent, five percent? Maybe, but that, in my opinion, is not a very large sample on which to make a decision to "call off" anything.

It seems to me that Tom King spoke in favor of continuing work on the Seven Site at the Symposium in Arlington in June.  I'm relying on my memory, and I remember that I've mdae mstikaes in the past by working from memory, but I have the impression that he thinks the Seven Site has not been fully explored yet--let alone other potentially interesting parts of the island (e.g., Camp Zero).

[C.W. Herndon]

Good. I can't disagree with him. :)

[Chris Johnson]

I seem to remember (collective memories) Dr King expressing that business wasn't finished at the seven site.  Camp Zero has also been talked about and i'm sure i've read that he would like to revisit the shoe site and clams bush on the lagoon shore as areas that havn't been looked at in delail.

[C.W. Herndon]

Sounds right to me Chris.

[Greg Daspit]

I agree  that useful things found on  islands are scavenged.  If the raft was there and close to the beach it may have been washed away by the time anyone got there to scavenge it.
Items like parachutes and inflatable life rafts may blow away in the wind very quickly(if they were even there and taken out and used)
Also regarding the land search,
Clothing disintegrates over time
Small metal objects like weathered  watch parts may be so small, they may be very difficult to find.
As discussed other durable and useful items get scavenged
So what is left on the island that could have survived and not be scavenged, and can still be found?( which may be the point of diminishing return argument)
Broken glass from a compact, broken lotion bottles and broken freckle ointment bottles make sense to me. Non corrosive, small so not seen easily, and not likely rolling away by wind force and if broken not so useful to a colonist.  What TIGHAR found fits the candidates of items that could have survived weathering and were also not likely to be scavenged. But  to find those artifacts, TIGHAR did a lot of detective work to select the Seven Site for a more detailed search.

The TIGHAR research based on interviews  and the Bevington object, and land-able area already suggests the camp zero area to search in more detail as already discussed. 
The Debris field trail followed up the sea slope may suggest an even more defined area to do a land search just as the aircraft debris washed ashore suggested where to look in the sea based on where it was found and the currents.  The Land and Sea searches help each other.  Myself, I'm still interested in a land search even if they find the plane in the debris field. It's the story of what happened and the work TIGHAR is doing that  I'm interested in.  I understand the arguments on diminishing returns. There are ways to narrow the search for the needle in a haystack that increase the chances of a return on the invested time. I think TIGHAR's approach is doing that very well. Especially with the limited time they have had to spend actually searching on the island

[Gary LaPook]

Gary,

where do you keep it?  Does it get regular exposure to UV and the elements?

It's leaning against the fence in my backyard. But Earhart's life raft and parachutes only had to last until Bevington arrived or, at the latest, the arrival of the PISS settlers, not for forty years like my life raft. In fact, they only had to last one week to be spotted by Lambrecht. The life raft and parachutes were not there when Lambrecht flew over, they were not there when Bevington was there, they were not there when the settlers were there, they were not there when the Coast Guard was there (so far only seven years) and they were not there when TIGHAR arrived in the 1990s. IN FACT, they were NEVER there because Earhart was NEVER there.

How's that for using Ocam's razor?

gl

[Chris Johnson]

Gary,

where do you keep it?  Does it get regular exposure to UV and the elements?

It's leaning against the fence in my backyard.

gl

In a protective case or 'naked'? Whats it made of as well?

Here's a idea, Fred got on it and paddled off into the sunset leaving Amelia on her own on Gardner.

[Gary LaPook]

Gary,

where do you keep it?  Does it get regular exposure to UV and the elements?

It's leaning against the fence in my backyard.

gl

In a protective case or 'naked'? Whats it made of as well?

Here's a idea, Fred got on it and paddled off into the sunset leaving Amelia on her own on Gardner.

Now that's an idea and he took both parachutes with him, one to use a sail and the other as a sea anchor and he left before the Lambrecht search. He was going to get help.

gl