Thank you for your reply Ric. I thought as thorough as TIGHAR is this couldn't have been missed, but I still wasn't sleeping well. It is a relief, although pirates will be pirates. You've done what can be done.
Is anything being done to ensure the protection of the wreck when found?
Yes. The Republic of Kiribati asserts ownership of all properties within their national borders. Immediately following the State Department event on March 20, TIGHAR and the Republic of Kiribati signed an Antiquities Management Agreement that makes TIGHAR the exclusive agent for searching, recovering, and conserving all artifacts related to Amelia Earhart within the borders of Kiribati. The high level of U.S. Government interest evident on March 20 insures that if wreckage of the plane is discovered during TIGHAR's July expedition, it will be kept under close surveillance until a recovery expedition can be mounted. It is our hope and intention that any artifacts and/or wreckage confirmed to be related to Earhart, Noonan or the Electra ultimately be exhibited at the Smithsonian National Air 7 Space Museum.
In April 2011, David Alan Atcheson posted on the Forum about his interest in Scuba diving, and a tour group that was advertising a 2012 trip through the Phoenix Islands, including Nikumaroro (which the tour group, Pacific Expeditions, refers to still as Gardner Island). A similar expedition had been advertised to occur about the same time as TIGHAR's Niku VI expedition in 2010.
Ric responded about 15 minutes later, noting that the advertised trip had not been properly cleared with authorities, and apparently ended up not visiting Niku. Also, Ric had been in contact with the folks at PIPA about the group's planned visits in the summer of 2011, and it appeared that Pacific Expeditions had subsequently performed the due diligence to obtain the necessary authorizations for its 2011 trip.
Pacific Expeditions Ltd website lists two upcoming planned visits to the Phoenix Islands, including Niku: the first a Scuba diving voyage that runs from 30 May to 15 June, and the second a non-diving voyage that begins 26 June and ends 13 July. Both potential visits would seem to be scheduled to occur before the Niku VII expedition arrives at Niku.
The program for the Symposium has been finalized and published on the Earhart Search 75 website.
See attached .pdf file for a thumbnail sketch. TIGHAR would be very grateful if you would circulate this to any groups who might be interested.
Thanks Marty and team. That's really great news. I hope to hear all about it at the symposium.
Hope to meet a bunch of you in DC.
Sure wish i could be there but its too far and the wrong time of year for me. IF the event was filmed i would be interested in buying a DVD tough.
I would buy a DVD also - would LOVE to go but cannot. Would love to meet you all and have a cold one (or two)..but to all who do attend, have a great time and soak up all the information for us that cannot be there!!
We need to circulate the attached brochure as widely as possible to drum up attendance at the Symposium. It is just a few days away, for all practical purposes, and registration is light.
It will be a great opportunity to interview the people who have built TIGHAR from scratch and who have assembled the world's greatest collection of Earhart information.
Even if you disagree with the TIGHAR team, this is your chance to make your case in person.
I'm excited about the prospect of being there, and I've met most of the presenters through EPAC already. It will be a great event. Even if you can't come yourself, maybe you know someone else who would be interested.
Thanks for your consideration of this request to help get the word out. Very much appreciated.
Are there any forum readers in the Toronto Ontario Canada area who are waffling? I would be happy to connect with you and discuss why attending is a good idea. I could even cancel my airfare and drive some interested parties down and back in a van. No cost for the trip down. You're responsible for your registration and hotel. But it would save some money if it helps. Send me a personal message thru the forum. Let's have a big Canadian contingent to show our American friends we care.
You guys know what? There is a BUNCH of information here to brush up on before going to DC.
YOu really dont realize just how much information and work has been put into this, until you start studying it -AGAIN---WOW.
Ok guys, make this conference count, you have the publics interest, publicity and press coverage. You have ALL put in a huge amount of work so good luck and best wishes.
If anyone attending the conference is interested in taking some time to search the Naval Observatory Records for the numbers on the Sextant Box given to Fred Noonan by Harry Manning, I have the search information from their Archivist. It is what I'd be doing if I was able to attend.
The Naval Observatory was responsible for calibrating Sextants and Octants back then. We know that Harry gave Fred a relatively new model aircraft Octant before the last flight. We also have a record of the numbers on the "Sextant Box" found on Niku. What we don't know is whether the numbers on the Niku "Sextant Box" are the same as the numbers that were on the "Manning" box. The answer is (likely, or maybe only possibly) in the Naval Observatory Records, "1923-1943 (Entry 14 Record Group 78, 103 feet)" and are sub-classified in some way I have not had experience with.
It is a search I plan to undertake the next time I'm on the opposite coast from Washington State, but that might be years from now. Any help would be greatly appreciated by myself, and I'm sure by others as well.
Good luck at the Symposium everybody. Are there any plans for "play by play" posts? I'm sure those attending will be rather busy, but will there be a new thread that gives the highlights?