FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE EARHART LOSS
What was the method of navigation Earhart and Fred Noonan were using to find Howland Island?
1. The method of navigation Noonan used in locating Howland Island is called the single line of position landfall. It entails making a right turn in north and short of the destination and tracking south to Howland Island. The islands (Howland and Baker) would come up on the left side of the airplane giving Noonan a good view from the left distortion free window in the rear of the cabin.
Why couldn't the navigator, Fred Noonan, establish his position on this flight?
2. Fred Noonan, the navigator on the round the world flight, only had one bearing (the sun) after 7:30 in the morning in the Howland area which would produce longitude only. They did not know where they were on the line of position (LOP) or latitude. It requires two bearings to establish a fix. Noonan only had one ( the sun).
Why did Earhart have so much trouble with radio communications?
3. Earhart switched radio frequencies at a critical time for radio transmissions and lost ground contact with the Coast Guard Cutter Itasca. There was considerable comment from many sources that it was an overt attempt to establish a spy mission; however, at the time of day that the switch was made, it was established procedure to change to the daytime frequency of 6210 KC from 3105 KC. These two frequencies are called harmonic frequencies (6210 is double 3105), and at certain hours of the day they "bleed" into one another. Thusly, Earhart made another serious mistake in selecting her departure time from New Guinea. Arriving in the vicinity of Howland Island at 8:00 A.M. in the morning Howland time meant that the night time frequency of 3105 would be fading and 6210 would be bleeding over taking its place. However, 3105 did not fade and 6210 was not on line at the time the switch was made. It was an impending doom to the Earhart flight. Communication with the Itasca was lost.
Why was Earhart flying at the exceptionally low level of 1,000 feet in the approach to Howland Island?
4. One of the incriminating pieces of information that came forth in the Earhart investigation was that Earhart was flying at 1,000 feet at the time that she approached Howland Island. This is an exceptionally low altitude and an altitude that would normally be used in the approach for a landing only. It is not a search altitude. All, virtually all, of the reports that came in from Howland Island stated that the weather was clear in the Howland area. In fact, it was clear southbound all the way down to the Phoneix Islands, but Earhart did not know this. There also were no reports of scattered cumulus which would normally be expected over open seas. The only reported cloud formations were about 50 miles to the north and west of Howland where heavy cumulus was seen. The question of the hour seems to be what was Earhart doing down at 1,000 feet? The only answer is that Earhart was to the north and west of Howland caught up in the heavy cloud formations that were seen in the area. Thusly, the arguments for a right turn approach down the LOP looking for Howland through the distortion free left cabin window are very strong. Arguments that Earhart approached from the south of Howland and Baker Islands and made a left turn search pattern are controversial.
What were the weather conditions at Howland at the time of the flight and why didn't Earhart see the smoke screen laid down by the Coast Guard Cutter Itasca?
5. Commander Warner K. Thompson of the Itasca radioed at the time that CONDITIONS END OF FLIGHT CLEAR BLUE SKY SOUTH AND EAST OF HOWLAND HEAVY CLOUD BANKS APPROXIMATELY 50 MILES NORTH AND WEST OF HOWLAND PERIOD ITASCA LAID HEAVY SMOKE SCREEN FOR TWO HOURS WHICH HAD NOT DISINTEGRATED AND CLEARLY VISIBLE FROM SOUTH AND EAST FOR 40 OR MORE MILES AT ALTITUDE 1000 FT PERIOD DOUBTFUL IF VISIBLE FROM OVER 20 MILES FROM NORTH AND WEST . . . CLOUDY WEATHER AND EVIDENTLY FLYING IN CLOUDS UNTIL LAST FEW MINUTES OF FLIGHT . . . COULD NOT HAVE FAILED TO SEE SMOKE SCREEN IF SHE PASSED SOUTH PERIOD.
If the Lockheed Electra crashed at sea why didn't Amelia Earhart and her navigator survive the crash in a calm sea?
6. The first direction the Itasca took in the search for the (presumably) downed airplane was to the north of Howland Island. In the final appraisal, the Itasca found no evidence that Earhart crashed at sea...north, south or west of Howland Island or that the airplane crashed in the vicinity of the nearby Gilbert Islands or the Phoenix Islands. The Battleship Colorado and the Carrier Lexington accompanied by three destroyers came to the same conclusion. There was no evidence . . . no floating airplane tires, no debris, no life rafts, no floating bodies or life rafts. There was nothing to be found. However, the area they did not search was the nearby or adjacent Japanese held Marshall Islands. The Marshall Islands were declared off limits to the Americans. There is a strain of thought in the Earhart disappearance, that Amelia had discarded her inflatable life raft either in Miami or at Lae, New Guinea, before departure for Howland Island. However, these arguments were not considered credible. The Search by the Battleship Colorado and the Carrier Lexington was based upon the contention that Earhart and Noonan may have ditched at sea and were afloat in a life raft. Otherwise, such an extensive search, the largest in the history of aviation, may have never been made.
What were Earhart's alternate plans if they could not find Howland Island?
7. Did Earhart have an alternate plan in the case Howland Island could not be found? Undoubtedly she did. The Gilbert Islands and Tarawa, under British control, would have been a prime alternate. To the south was Gardner Island in the Phoenix Group, but Gardner Island represented the same problems as Howland . . . a single isolated island and in this case an uninhabited island that would have been posed the same problems as an attempt to find Howland. It was not a likely choice and would have meant starvation and very little chance for contact with civilization. It was also the area that was searched by three airplanes from the Battleship Colorado.
What was the biggest problem Earhart faced at Howland Island.
8. If Earhart was indeed far to the north of Howland Island, and the decision was made to turn back for the Gilbert Islands, directly to the west would have been the Marshall Islands. Naval officers from the Carrier Lexington who studied the Earhart flight came to the conclusion that the biggest problem Earhart and Noonan may have had was the hot tropical sun blinding them in the face. At 8:00AM in the morning it would have blocked the view of anyone peering down at the ocean and searching for small isolated islands. Gardner Island was to the south and at that time of day would have posed the same problem. The glare from the sun would have been nearly prohibitive. Once again, it was a poor choice for an arrival time. An arrival time of 2:00 P.M. or 3:00 P.M. in the vicinity of Howland Island would have put the sun at their backs and visibility would have been vastly improved. Fred Noonan, Earhart's navigator had one over powering problem . . . only one bearing . . . the sun. Because a 250 foot trailing antenna had been discarded before the Howland leg of the flight, radio reception was severally affected. Beyond any question, Earhart and Noonan were relying on radio direction findings bearings for the critical second "fix" to take them into Howland Island. It was a failure for which there was no cure.
|