Thank God that he wasn't 5 hours into a 10 hour flight over the open South Pacific to Pago Pago... & was able to safely return to Hamilton. I still think that his GPS transponder was screwed-up from the beginning of this leg. as indicated here: http://projectameliaearhart.org/tracker/map.php I would seriously be checking for major electrical problems....
I wonder why they are already so set on the fuel pump being at fault. Seems kinda weird after all these miles the pump would suddenly get funky in such an obscure way. Especially with flow indication being OK too. Hmmm. Based on the symptoms described, and considering sources of the proper fuel along the way have been a bit scarce and sometimes shady deals, I would be very concerned about fuel quality; alteration / contamination. Including influx or dirt, debris and/or water / condensation due to heavy WX and high tropical humidity. And subsequent fouling of fuel system components, filters, valves. I would expect Brian and the crew have already checked that thoroughly. OK, now I'll go back to flyin' the radio-op chair 73 de John - WØPV
The text on the bottom caption of the ONI #14381 file image, type-written, leads off with the capital letters "PL". So far no one seems to be able or willing to explain the meaning of that preamble. So I will offer one. PL = PROOF OF LIFE Perhaps Earhart, Noonan and the plane were initially picked up by non-belligerent islanders; hence, no guards. Eventually on shore they were transferred to / taken into custody by Imperial government authorities. Since the Second Sino-Japanese War was just breaking out (leading to WWII), they decided to hold them in secret as political hostages. A negotiation took place between the IJA seeking concessions from the USG. What happens quickly in such negotiations? PROOF OF LIFE! The negotiations / incarceration failed, a cover-up ensued by both governments, hence its inclusion in an alleged public book printing, conveniently back-dated, which apparently was ONE-OF-A-KIND; no other copies exist (?) 73 de John - WØPV
I cringe any time I see someone invoking "Occams Razor" because few really understand it. This whole thing, both sides of the argument, reminds me a lot of UFO conspiracy theory arguments. As for the photo. Maybe I ain't squinting my eyes and tilting my head just right, but I don't see anything that looks much like an aircraft on a barge. Where is that in the photo exactly?
Oh that's easy. The Japanese guard is the one behind the camera taking the picture, just moments before he captured everyone.
There is something about those Japanese with their cameras! Looks like he caught two big ones on the dock instead of the drink! The fuzzy white outline is on the far right side between the large ship and the edge of the photo. The plane (maybe) in question on a barge only has a single tail, the one Earhart flew has a twin tail. Bruce N7XGR
I think it was Elvis behind the camera, and the "airplane blob" is really an alien space craft disguised as an Electra. But seriously folks, I'm following the flight here with great interest!
Yup! Unfortunately, just as I suspected. "It has been several days since the excitement of last Saturday. The entire fuel system has been gone-through with a fine-toothed comb and we have learned several things. First, there was no failure of the fuel pump. Once we got the pump on the test stand we were able to determine that it was working just fine. In fact, it exceeded every normal operating specification handily. That left us scratching our collective heads. (The guys who overhaul engines and accessories all agreed the pump had failed given the data we had.) So, what was it? At that point there was no "smoking gun" so it was now down to taking the fuel system apart to see what could have caused the problem. What we found was ... fuel contamination. " ... https://www.facebook.com/AmeliaEarhart80/ Very glad Brian stepped back from what he first ass-u-me'd (the pump) and did a thorough trouble-shooting. But I also expected he would do that. 73 de John - WØPV