Newsweek is reporting that a scrap of aluminum found on Nikumaroro, an atoll in the southwestern Pacific republic of Kiribati is looking more and more like an artifact from Ameleia Earhart's Lockheed Electra.
The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) recovered in 1991 what has been identified as a Patch, to replace a non-standard window in Earhart's plane
The window was installed for unknown reasons prior to the attempted around the world flight. But for equally unexplained reasons, the window was removed and the patch installed just before departing Miami, FL.
The TIGHAR group has released their detailed analysis of the patch, using a sister-ship of Earhart's plane. Their report is published on line yesterday (October 28, 2014), showing that the rivet holes in this aluminum fragment match uniquely the structure of the Electra.
Not just ANY Electra. Because Earhart's Electra had a non-standard sized window installed which required structural modification, and this patch replaced that unique airframe part, the researchers are very confident that this patch came from Earhart's plane, and wouldn't fit any other plane.
There is a related article at the Miami Herald which contains a picture of the plane with the patch in place.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Zinho on Thursday October 30 2014, @01:58PM
There's a better picture [miamiherald.com] available from the linked article. The patched window is in the fuselage near the tail; there should be two starboard windows aft of the wing, the patch is about halfway between the visible window and the tail and is a brighter color metal than the rest of the fuselage.
"Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
(Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday October 30 2014, @08:29PM
The best pictures are in the report which I linked.
I have no idea why the editors added that last link, it shows nothing about the patch.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 30 2014, @02:16PM
Why would she need a window if she was blind?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 30 2014, @03:53PM
Why would she need a window if she was blind?!?
Don't you mean:
WHY WOULD SHE NEED A WINDOW IF SHE WAS BLIND?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 30 2014, @04:37PM
She's deaf, she can't hear your caps lock.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 30 2014, @05:47PM
It's inspiring to learn about what she was able to do, in spite of her disabilities.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 30 2014, @06:51PM
And all while the Nazis were hunting her.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 30 2014, @11:36PM
And all while the Nazis were hunting her.
Nice.
See folks, this is gold. This is why there is a Soylent News.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Beukenbosje on Thursday October 30 2014, @02:20PM
So.. The Briori live on Nikumaroro...?
(Score: 1) by middlemen on Thursday October 30 2014, @02:36PM
Why are they searching for her still ? She most likely is dead. The plane she flew in is no longer in use anyway. Why keep searching ? Why waste that money ?
(Score: 3, Informative) by tangomargarine on Thursday October 30 2014, @02:44PM
Curiosity.
Why waste that money ?
Well okay, you've got me there. But TIGHAR is a nonprofit organization...does that imply they're getting taxpayer money or something? If they operate off other people's donations, why should I care how they spend the money?
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 30 2014, @02:49PM
She most likely is dead.
Don't go out on a limb, if she survived she would still be young-old at age 117.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 30 2014, @02:58PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 30 2014, @02:59PM
Why do people collect coins? They are very common and easy to find. Why bother hording them? /sarc
There are 2 reasons people look for things like this.
Value - if you could find the plane you would have something you cold parade around and make money on
Interest - some people find it interesting and like the thrill of the detail finding and cracking the nut of the mystery. For example look at the titanic. Why did they bother go looking for it? It was a mystery to be solved. Some people like that.
Finding that bit of the airplane narrows down the search area considerably from thousands of square kilometers to to a maybe 10-20.
(Score: 1) by middlemen on Thursday October 30 2014, @05:23PM
Yea why Amelia Earhart ? Why not John F Kennedy Jr.'s plane ? Why not investigate that with so much interest ?
(Score: 3, Informative) by frojack on Thursday October 30 2014, @08:40PM
Why not John F Kennedy Jr.'s plane ?
Because there is no mystery there.
On July 19, the fragments of Kennedy's plane were found by the NOAA vessel Rude using side-scan sonar.
The search ended in the late afternoon hours of July 21, when the three bodies were recovered from the ocean floor by Navy divers.
Kennedy was an incompetent pilot who ended up killing his family. Everyone died on impact.
Earhart survived and sent radio messages for 5 days which were heard by people who were not able to communicate those message to the navy's, delayed search operations. The messages ceased after a few days, when (people suspect) the remnants of her plane washed out to sea in a storm, and sank.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Informative) by kaszz on Thursday October 30 2014, @03:03PM
Because there's something to learn and people want to know what happened?
(Score: 1) by middlemen on Thursday October 30 2014, @05:20PM
Yea right!
Tons of single flyer aircrafts have been lost or found crashed but no one ever sat and wrote Miami Herald articles on those folks. Why Amelia Earhart ? Because she was the first to go missing ? or because she was a rich white American ?
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Thursday October 30 2014, @05:53PM
First white American female that did a 1928 transatlantic flight and got greeted by President Coolidge upon return? Physical resemblance to Lindbergh and a lecture tour? But she wasn't particular rich.
So a person in the media spotlight disappears. Of course people are curious. In the 1930s, if you were a celebrity, you most likely were really famous because there weren't many other celebrities or media to compete with.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Zinho on Thursday October 30 2014, @06:30PM
Tons of single flyer aircrafts have been lost or found crashed but no one ever sat and wrote Miami Herald articles on those folks. Why Amelia Earhart ? Because she was the first to go missing ? or because she was a rich white American ?
I'm sure the white, American woman aspect had something to do with it. I doubt that alone would have done it, though.
You have to also add in the fact that she was a popular writer, had a history of impressive achievements, [wikipedia.org] and was seen as a Feminist icon, performing feats of aviation equal or exceeding those of contemporary men. Think of a cross between Jackie Kennedy and Charles Lindbergh and you'll have about the idea of her celebrity status.
Like it or not, many people worldwide (even today!) are drawn in by celebrity and spectacle. Amelia Earhart was widely loved, and disappeared mysteriously during a highly-publicized world record attempt. What she was very close to accomplishing was not successfully done for another 27 years. [wikipedia.org] Yeah, I've never heard of Jerrie Mock, either. Fame is fickle that way.
As a cultural icon she stands fairly tall in her own right, with an inspirational life story. Her parents wasted her opportunity to be a trust fund child, and she worked odd jobs to scrape up the $1000 she needed for her first flight lessons. She volunteered as a nurse for WWI soldiers and during the 1918 flu epidemic. She spent her life encouraging girls and women to pursue their dreams in whatever their chosen field and her influence helped change the U.S. culture towards giving women the opportunity to work in traditionally male careers. By most measures she did a lot of good in the world and was instantly missed by many worldwide. The lack of a body to bury has led to a lack of closure for her many fans that extends to this day.
"Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 30 2014, @09:15PM
At the time, Jackie Cochran was a much more accomplished female aviator. [wikipedia.org]
It was Jackie's bad luck that she didn't marry book publisher and publicist George P. Putnam.
Having a wealthy husband who has a media machine that documents every minor thing you do can make a rather ordinary person with some experiences into a more-recognized celebrity than someone with more significant achievements.
...not to mention the kind of wealth that can buy an individual an airline-sized aircraft.
-- gewg_
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 30 2014, @09:27PM
I thought career and fame were built through hard work and skill, not luck.
Damn right wing ideology has lied to me again.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday October 30 2014, @06:34PM
Technically she had a navigator, too, so it wasn't a solo flight.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday October 30 2014, @04:32PM
It's for James Cameron's 2020 film Amelia.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 30 2014, @05:52PM
Ameleia Earhart?!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 30 2014, @06:47PM
a clue.
(Score: 1) by VIPERsssss on Thursday October 30 2014, @07:22PM
Isn't this the same story they've been pushing for years on the "history" channel?