You can’t read the whole article unless you subscribe but there’s enough there to see yet another income stream…..
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/02/17/newly-discovered-footage-may-solve-riddle-amelia-earharts-disappearance/
By: J Boyle - 5th August 2024 at 00:19
Ideally, the US group would come out with a positive ID of their finding just before RG’s book, immediately rendering it obsolete.
But that’s just me… 🙂
By: MFowler - 4th August 2024 at 22:04
JBoyle – unfortunately, nothing new. But the deafening silence from NatGeo tells me that they have nothing worth telling.There were rumors that the bone fragments weren’t even human, but nothing official was ever released as far as I know.
As far as TIGHAR goes, Gillespie is busy shilling his upcoming this-is-what-really happened book, which will be available before the US group that found the intriguing sonar image on the ocean floor near Howland Island is able to get back there with a camera sled to positively identify it.
And despite knowing since August 2022 that the piece of aluminum he insisted for 30-plus years had to come from Earhart’s aircraft, Gillespie still hasn’t issued a final report on that debacle. Timeliness seems to be an alien concept to TIGHAR.
By: J Boyle - 3rd August 2024 at 21:58
BUMP…after 5 years….
Anything new on this?
By: MFowler - 7th November 2019 at 14:39
Having finally watched the National Geographic show, what I found most striking was the total lack of TIGHAR symbols/logos, which are usually plastered liberally over anything that TIGHAR has even a remote involvement in.
Gillespie wore a plain blue shirt instead of one of his TIGHAR-patch-adorned khaki bush shirts. Perhaps that was in keeping with his role of “paid consultant” (no mention of how much, it will be interesting to see if that is ever revealed).
Former TIGHAR archaeologist Dr. Tom King was identified as the author of a book about Earhart’s fate, but then, he was unceremoniously drummed off of TIGHAR’s board of directors by Gillespie earlier this year.
Nothing substantive was found, but then, Nat Geo hasn’t had time to finish DNA testing on samples taken at the one land site by broadcast time. Gillespie seems to have washed his hands of the entire episode.
By: ZRX61 - 18th September 2019 at 19:56
Apparently someone has found it…:highly_amused::highly_amused::highly_amused:
Apart from all the other BS he spouts, apparently no one told him the CIA didn’t exist until 1947…
By: Jack Deth - 18th September 2019 at 16:58
Apparently someone has found it…:highly_amused::highly_amused::highly_amused:
Actually a Lockheed Lodestar that crashed on takeoff in 1980.
https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19800105-0
By: Bob - 18th September 2019 at 15:04
Apparently someone has found it…:highly_amused::highly_amused::highly_amused:
By: MFowler - 18th September 2019 at 13:56
And in the run-up to the National Geographic special, Gillespie is determined to keep putting TIGHAR’s hypothesis (that’s science-speak for “guess”) front and center. His main effort seems to be the forthcoming social media video, The History of TIGHAR Solving the Earhart Mystery In Three Minutes.
But he also continues to push the credibility of The Patch, the piece of aircraft aluminum TIGHAR found on Nikumaroro Island in 1989, which TIGHAR has been determinedly but unsuccessfully trying to make fit to Earhart’s Electra ever since. His most recent assertions are that the faint traces of stenciling remaining prove that the metal was made at Alcoa’s Tennessee plant in 1937, and this fits his version of The Patch being from Earhart’s aircraft. Gillespie wrote, in part:
“As shown in the attached document, ALCOA used different fonts to identify product from different plants. We’ve had this “Plant Identification Marking For Sheet and Plate” since 1992 but only recently realized its significance. It dates from 1947 and, according to the ALCOA executive who gave it us, it was the first time the company published such a guide, but there is no reason think it represents a change from long practice. Based on this document, it seems safe to conclude that the aluminum used at the Lockheed factory came from the Edgewater, NJ plant. The aluminum in 2-2-V-1 was made at the Alcoa, TN plant. (Alcoa was the name of the town.)
As to the use of ALCLAD 24ST versus ALC24ST, the attached photo of Consolidated PB2Y “Coronados” under construction in 1943 shows that both were in use simultaneously – in this case on sheet from the Tennessee plant. Based on this documentation, there appears to be no reason to think the aluminum in 2-2-V-1 could not have been made at the Alcoa, TN plant in 1937.” https://tighar.org/smf/index.php/topic,2090.msg43282.html#msg43282
Seems like more than a few assumptions in there, even for TIGHAR. And Gillespie has remained mum on the biggest disqualifier for The Patch – TIGHAR’s own metallurgical tests show that The Patch’s make-up more closely resembles WWII aluminum than known samples from other Lockheed Electras built at the same time as Earhart’s. Just another inconvenient fact …
By: Jack Deth - 27th August 2019 at 17:59
Which indicates that NG/Ballard may not completely buy into the TIGHAR’s tale of AE ONLY being a at Gardner/Nikumaroro. I’d love to see him find the aircraft near Howland.
Expedition NA114 is sponsored by NOAA’s Office of Exploration and Research. It has nothing to do with Earhart or National Geographic.
https://nautiluslive.org/cruise/na114
Baker and Howland Islands and Johnston Atoll
Aug 25, 2019 to Sep 16, 2019 — NA114
The main objective of this expedition is to collect deepwater baseline information to support science and management decisions in and around U.S. marine protected areas in the central Pacific. We will conduct seafloor mapping and acquire video, biological, chemical, and geological samples in deep-sea portions of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in order to better understand marine habitats, biogeographic patterns, seafloor mineral distribution, and the geologic history of these areas.
The Pacific Remote Islands National Marine Monument (PRIMNM) is one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world, encompassing seven national wildlife refuges on coral islands, reefs, and atolls. The five regions of PRIMNM cover 490,343 square miles and span the Central Pacific Ocean from Wake Atoll in the northwest to Jarvis Island in the southeast.
This Nautilus expedition will build upon previous expeditions to this region and continue to gather information about the topography, geology, and biology of this important United States territory and the surrounding areas. Mapping operations will focus on adding coverage to existing mapping data, conducting surveys to support ROV dive site planning, and mapping uncharted areas during transits. Geological collections will help define substrate type and refine age estimates for the features explored in this geologically complex region. Biological specimens will help define biogeographic boundaries, depth distribution and diversity of species, and observe the basic biology and ecology of these ecosystems, compared to other regions. In addition, the video collected will be used for diversity estimates, frequency, and fidelity of coral-associated communities, knowledge critical to evaluating the impact of the Marine Protected Areas on deep-sea ecosystems over time.
By: J Boyle - 27th August 2019 at 15:54
Also note, according to the story, that Ballard is now heading north, to troll the seafloor around Howland and Baker islands. It would be richly ironic if he found the plane there, would it not?
Which indicates that NG/Ballard may not completely buy into the TIGHAR’s tale of AE ONLY being a at Gardner/Nikumaroro.
[RIGHT]I’d love to see him find the aircraft near [/RIGHT][RIGHT]Howland.[/RIGHT]
By: Wellington285 - 27th August 2019 at 15:20
When the bones were found wasn’t the skull complete? The new discovery of skull fragments found on Tarawa could be from one of the many bloody battles fought there
, plenty of bones to pick up, not convinced.
Ian
By: MFowler - 27th August 2019 at 13:45
Remember, National Geographic is doing a TV show on this expedition – they have to be able to show SOMETHING at the end of the day. Skull fragments that might – or might not – be from Earhart is better than nothing at all, which is what Ballard’s part of the search found.
Frankly, I’ll be very surprised if any definitive DNA results can be extracted from the skull fragments in time for the Oct. 20th TV show.
Also note, according to the story, that Ballard is now heading north, to troll the seafloor around Howland and Baker islands. It would be richly ironic if he found the plane there, would it not?
By: RPM, FF, TGT... - 27th August 2019 at 02:20
The Skull Fragment
Reported and introduced in the TIGHAR Forum…
RPM…
By: Jack Deth - 27th August 2019 at 02:12
TIGHAR has now introduced a fragment of a skull which is resting in the TARAWA Museum ….which has the possibility of being part of Earhart’s skull!
From the article: “An expedition land team led by National Geographic Society archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert may have found fragments of the skull in the Te Umwanibong Museum and Cultural Centre in Tarawa, Kiribati.”
I read that as saying Nat Geo, not TIGHAR, is responsible for the Tarawa museum skull fragment claims.
By: RPM, FF, TGT... - 27th August 2019 at 01:02
…..and now for something completely different….
TIGHAR has now… wait fr it… TIGHAR has now introduced a fragment of a skull which is resting in the TARAWA Museum ….which has the possibility of being part of Earhart’s skull !
My Goodness !
I woonder whose DNA will be found on it, in it or under it…?
RPM…
By: Jack Deth - 26th August 2019 at 19:08
By: MFowler - 23rd August 2019 at 13:11
Laying the Groundwork…
Next fundraiser will be US$3 Million to hire a large floating crane to remove the Norwich City stern off of the Electra.
RPM….
Actually, the next fundraiser is already underway! And YOU can be a part of it!!! Gillespie needs $8,000 because,“… we’re currently producing a short video suitable for spreading on social media, illustrating how TIGHAR used the principles of scientific investigation to discover the true fate of Earhart and Noonan. The cost to complete the video is $8,000. Response has been excellent. So far, we have raised $625.”
Note how he spins this: Response has been “excellent” but he’s raised less than 10% of what he says he needs. He also makes the definitive statement that TIGHAR has solved the mystery. Odd that no one else on the planet agrees with that, not that that has ever slowed him down …
I suspect this push to get a video out on social media is a foredoomed attempt to keep TIGHAR relevant if its primary reason for existence goes down in flames as a result of the National Geographic expedition’s findings. Consider:
“Expedition Amelia” premiers on Oct. 20 in the USA. It’s going to be an interesting evening.
By: RPM, FF, TGT... - 23rd August 2019 at 05:28
Laying the Groundwork…
If you have all been following the paid-up members only posting Forum, you will have noticed that Richard Gillespie started laying the groundwork for failure a few days ago. He made the suggestion of where Dr. Ballard should be intensively looking for the Electra by saying (in an assumption again) that, “If there is no damage to the tanks the Electra would float for 18 minutes and drift at less than 2 knots to the S.E. where it would sink.” He then said that a “Worst Scenario” would be that it sank right there where the stern of the SS Norwich City broke off in 1939 ….”, which would of course mean it would buried under “avast behind” [to use a Naval expression].
It is also a vast Ocean out there so there is a whole seabed to go at ….and three searches previously made have also failed to find anything.
My guess will be, “He didn’t look where I told him to look.”
Next fundraiser will be US$3 Million to hire a large floating crane to remove the Norwich City stern off of the Electra.
RPM….
By: J Boyle - 21st August 2019 at 13:06
I haven’t heard the organization has been sold. Perhaps just the TV “brand” but certainly not the Society itself.
My point was whomever owns NG, the huge costs of running a multimedia enterprise is far different from the traditional, nerdy NG magazine of old.
With that you could afford to be scientifically based. With a modern media empire you need to bring in the money and pure objective research becomes a luxury.
Just my guess.
To quote the film The Right Stuff “No bucks, no Buck Rogers”.
By: TonyT - 21st August 2019 at 10:24
There’s more…….
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February 17, 2019 at 10:59 am