S1 Ep12: Vanished Amelia Earhart "A Simpler Explanation"

"It's so hard to identify it because you're looking at the ghost of the air-frame; you're looking at the coral that has grown around the structure and that structure is gone."

Crime scenes might be the running theme for this trial. But here’s a scenario that I want to explain to people who aren’t familiar with this case. It’s an easy visual; so, follow me. Imagine you’re a detective called in to investigate a murder. Let’s say in this case the victim is a woman and the likely suspect is her husband; a domestic situation gone terribly wrong. When you arrive at the crime scene; let’s say it’s the home of this couple, one thing is obvious; there’s no body. At the crime scene there’s multiple pieces of evidence to investigate; it looks like there may have been a struggle of some kind, maybe you find a little blood; you might even find a murder weapon; all solid evidence yet no body in sight. Then suddenly, you learn that a body of a woman was discovered several miles away in an alley that appears to have several similarities to your apparent victim. Here’s the question. Do you investigate the body? Or do you ignore it and try to prove your case based solely off the crime scene? Tonight, we’re going to talk about a theory that’s been at the forefront of the investigation into the vanishing of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan. And this theory happens to have a body. And that body is none other than that of an airplane carrying multiple similarities to the plane they vanished in almost 82 years ago. It’s time to dissect the third of five theories with experts, evidence and testimony for the Buka hypothesis.

SHOW NOTES

• Smith & Vinson's Official Website
• Jennifer Taylor @ Smith & Vinson
• Jennifer Taylor on Twitter
• Smith & Vinson on Twitter
• Smith & Vinson on Facebook
• "Vanished: Amelia Earhart" was recorded in its entirety by the Zoom H1N microphone. Get yours here.
• A special thank you to Chris Cogswell of the "Mad Scientist Podcast" for recording tonight's exit script.

EXHIBITS

1. Project’s Exhibit 1: "Plane down near Howland Is" Daily Telegraph Sydney Australia; July 6th 1937
2. Project’s Exhibit 2: The landing light lens recovered from the plane wreckage off the coast of Buka Island.
3. Defense Exhibit 1: A transcript of James A. Collopy's letter to the civil aviation board
4. Defense Exhibit 2:An excerpt from TIGHAR's website which claims the empty wait of the Electra was 7,265 pounds

ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES

• Project Blue Angel's official website
• Project Blue Angel on Facebook
• Tracking Amelia Earhart: Her Flight Path to the End" by William Pennington Snavely, Jr. @ Special Books
• The Bureau of Aircraft Accident Archives Electra breakdown
• "Tracking Amelia Earhart" A Conversation with Bill Snavely @ Chasing Earhart
• "Chasing Earhart: The Discussion Panel" from the 2018 Amelia Earhart Festival @ YouTube
• "Earhart's Plane Found?" @ Astonishing Legends
• "Bonus: Earhart's Plane Update" @ Astonishing Legends
• Boxfish Research's official website
• Boxfish Research on Twitter
• Boxfish Research on Facebook
• Jill Meyers' official website
• Jill Meyers on Twitter
• "The Sound of Wings" by Mary S. Lovell
• Radio Logs from the Coast Guard