jeffco squadron - oct 2010

8/2/2019 Jeffco Squadron - Oct 2010

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CELEBRATING THE SEARCH FOR THE PAST

AIRWAVESTIGHAR SEARCHES FOR AMELIA

EARHARTby

Capt P.D. Sargent

Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport Broomfield, Colorado Vol. 3 No. 11 October 2010

Continued on page 2

Like a sea-going SAR mission, TIGHAR, an archeological research group, set out to locate AemiliaEarhart and her companion, Fred Noonan, who went missing in the area of the Phoenix Islands in theWestern Pacific as they set out to circle the world in a rebuilt Electra in 1937.

Winner of the 2009 Belsam National Award for Excellence

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The Niku VI team venturing out to NikumaroroThe arrow points out Maj Andrew McKenna,Boulder Com osite S uadron, with the TIGHAR team.


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CELEBRATING THE SEARCH FOR THE PAST Page 2

The Ultimate Aircraft SearchTIGHAR -The Earhart Project

by2d Lt Luc Moens

The mystery has captivated the aviation community for over 70 years and has been fodder

for anything ranging from conspiracy theories to scientific studies. The story, of course, isthat of the disappearance in 1937 somewhere over the Pacific Ocean of Amelia Earhart who,together with navigational expert Fred Noonan, flew a Lockheed Model 10 Electra twinengine aircraft in what was supposed to be the final stretch of their historic flight aroundthe World.

The flight started in California and would lead them over the Caribbean, Brazil, across theAtlantic Ocean, Arabia, India, SE Asia, to Australia and New Guinea. From there, the goalwas to fly another 2600 miles to reach Howland Island right after sunrise. This small, onesquare mile coral island contained a runway that was apparently built solely for this historicflight, and was considered a crucial refueling spot on the way to Honolulu, from where they

would fly back to Oakland, California. Because it was surrounded by the vast expanse of theocean, the goal was to reach the 157 -337 line of position that in those days was used as anavigational tool, and that was defined by the front of sunlight as it marched across theearths surface during sunrise.

Radio communication between Amelia and a radio operator on a Coastguard Ship nearHowland Island indicated that the plane had indeed reached this line, but Amelia wasunable to hear this operators instructions, presumably because of a belly antenna mast onher plane that accidentally broken offupon take-off22 hours before. With only about twohours of fuel left, and no means to communicate with the ship, the plane is believed to haveveered away from Howland Island.

Thus began the grand mystery around the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, and to tell usabout what might have unfolded after that was Maj. Andrew McKenna of the BoulderComposite Squadron, who since 2000 has participated in three scientific expeditions to thePacific to search for remnants of Amelias plane. As an active member of the Earhart

Maj Andrew McKennas presentation to the squadrons October general meeting i$ustrated thatAmelia Earharts historic flight might have ended on an uninhabited island in the Pacific. However,try as he might to disprove that theory, McKenna acknowledges that as clues continue to be found, heis just not sure. Ed.


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Project operated by an organization calledTIGHAR, The International Group forHistoric Aircraft Recovery, Maj. McKennapresented the newest findings by hisexpedition team during our OctoberSquadron Meeting. Through the use of a

fascinating sl ideshow, he presentedcompelling evidence that Amelia mostlikely perished on Nikumaroro, Niku, asmall island among the Phoenix Islands,and located SE of Howland Island. Nikuhas a lagoon that is visible from forty milesaway, which makes it stand out from otherislands that are much harder to discernamong the shadows of overhanging cloudsover the ocean. During low tide it also has awide beach front, as well as a highly visible

shipwreck where a landing spot would havebeen most obvious to a pilot of a plane that was getting low on fuel. After Ameliasplane went missing, a number of amateurand military operators reported hearing awomans voice on their radios. This led tothe dispatching of the Navy battleship USSColorado that immediately started whatmust have been the most expensive missingperson search in history in July 1937. Threeplanes went out on a search for wreckage

on the beaches and later over open water,and at one point the chief pilot of thisoperation saw some signs of habitation onthe island but did not see signs of airplane wreckage. A later analysis conducted byPanAm of all radio communication showedthat triangulation of the radio signals of thelast hearing of Amelias voice convergedupon Niku.

In 1937, Niku fell under British colonial

jurisdiction, and colonial records latershowed that castaway bones had beendiscovered in 1940 comprising a skull and13 major bones that most likely belonged toa white Nordic woman sized at 5.5 to 5.9 ft.Amelia was 57. The whereabouts of thosebones are current ly unknown, but

apparently they were at one time shippedoffto the medical school in Fiji from wherethey later disappeared. Maj. McKenna, whois the son of a paleontol ogist , thenpresented an overview of all the objectsthat were dug up on Niku by the team that

consisted of an extraordinarycollection ofskilled scientists, including archeologists,forensic pathologist, anthropologists,forensic imaging people, oceanographersand ham radio experts.

The detective work conducted in the fieldby this impressive team was not always glamorous as it involved three weeks ofclearing vegetation and digging in the soildown to 10-15 cm in oppressive heat (up to

110F !). Moreover, staying offthe ground atnight was key to not being eaten alive byhermit crabs that came out of the jungle indroves. Nevertheless, many interestingobjects were found that could be importantpieces of the big puzzle. These includedpieces of garments like buttons, a zipper ofa lightweight jacket, a womans cosmeticsbottles that might have belonged toAmelia, a sextant box(Noonan was said tocarry a sextant with him at all times), pieces

of glassware, a jack knife, and even a pieceof aluminum that might have been part ofthe planes fuselage. Throughout thepresentation, the speaker shared hisscientific approach in a systematic fashionas he tried to disprove the origin andownership of the various objects, butadmitted that the mounting evidence nowmakes it hard to prove that it was not thesite where Amelia perished. Futureexpeditions will also focus on figuring out

the whereabouts of the bones that willmake it possible to acquire more evidencethrough DNA analysis. In the meantime,the grand mystery continues to keep itssecrets.

Please learn more at theTIGHAR website:http://tighar.org
http://tighar.org/http://tighar.org/http://tighar.org/


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Chasing the Greatest Mystery of the 20th Centuryby

Capt Patricia Sargent

In pursuit of solving the greatest mystery of the 20th century, Maj Andrew McKenna joinedother professionals of TIGHAR to team up and use their unusual talents to search for theremains of the ill-fated aircraft that was lost July 2, 1937. Given the composite of pastevidence, the organization focused on the island ofNikumaroro in the Gilberts in the Western Pacific.

TIGHAR, is an International Group for HistoricalAircraft Recovery. Its members, headed by aprofessional archaeologist, the science lead, the group ismade up of a forensic anthropologist known as the

bones lady, oceanographers, astronomers, a Geoinformation system, GIS, specialist, a forensic imagingexpert, and people of special interest including antiquebottle experts, a researcher from the New York CityLibrary and of course, McKenna, whose father was apaleontologist, one who seeks, finds, and interpretsfossils and ancient artifacts. McKennas role was that ofa field worker, a diver, and an aviation history buff. Allpool their specific expertise to search for clues, sift theground for telling fragments, research the findings, andlocate Naval and other archives. The group thinks of

itself as havingA Bee Hive Mind, he said.

That lost airplane, a rebuilt Electra, was carrying the pilot, Aemilia Earhart and hernavigator, Fred Noonan. Noonan was a mariner before becoming an aviator and knewcelestial navigation and a great deal about the sea. It was thought at the time that they werethe right air crew combination to navigate their way around the equator. With globalacclaim the team sought to break just one more flight record.

One of the world s longest and most expensive searches is not for gold bu$ion hidden by pirates in desertedisland caves, but for an entirely different kind of treasure: the first woman to fly across the AtlanticOcean solo and the first pilot, man or woman, to fly unaccompanied across the Pacific.Ocean. While thequest for Helen of Troy a$egedly lasted ten long years, the quest for Amelia Earhart has lasted a fu$seventy-three years and is not likely to end any time soon. This woman of indomitable spirit andprofound curiosity not only flew airplanes but broke records when women were just beginning to enterthe field of aviation. She always aimed high. As she neared her 40th birthday, she was ready for amonumental--and final--cha$enge. She wanted to be the first woman to fly around the world. She was aleader, a role model, and Americas Darling in the 1930s.

Legendary Aviatrix, Amelia Earhart


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The world waited as Earharts plane lostcommunication with the Navy who wastracking her progress. Apparently the Navycould hear Earhart but she could not hearthem. Time passed, and communicationfinally ended. This woman who hadsurpassed the wildest dreams of manybecame a legend. In addition to Navalsearches, and independent search teams,TIGHAR has undertaken six missions tofollow up the faint clues to try to locate theplane and its crew. Was a skull located insome early missionand was it that of aCaucasian women?Bones, including a

skull, had indeedby found and sentto Fiji where itd i s a p p e a r e d .Records there werenot available. Butadditional boneshave been foundmore recent ly ,a long with asextants box.

Noonan was known to have collectedsextants and one was surely needed on theEarhart flight. Unfortunately, bones, driedfor a long period of time, lose theirmoisture and traces of their DNA.Additionally, part of a knife body was foundon this mission, a double-bladed jackknife.It matched another part of a knife found in2007. TIGHARS web site informationsays, We found one small part of a pocket

knife we were able to identify as an Easy-Open, bone handled, double bladedjackknife made by the Imperial CutleryCompany of Providence, Rhode Islandbetween 1930 and 1945, the article said.This time, it continued, we found therest of the knife, except for the blades. It isnow apparent that someone beat the knifeapart with a blunt object, breaking it open

for the express purpose of removing theblades. Possibly, said McKenna, theblades were to be used for spearing fish.The mystery is tantalizing but facts areevasive. There still does not seem to beenough pieces of the puzzle to drawconclusions.

Still, TIGHAR has discovered otherobjects on Nikumaroro includingimprovised tools, an aluminum panel(possibly from an Electra), an oddly cut

piece of clear Plexiglas which is the exactthickness and curvature ofan Electra window, and a

size 9 Cat's Paw heeldating from the 1930s, which resembles Earhart'sfootwear in world flightphotos. Someone wastrying to survive. Howlong that someone lasted isa matter of conjecture.

The son of an scientist,McKenna has shown a keen interest in

TIGHARs work. After WWII, he said, arash of wholesale treasure hunters combedthe war theaters for downed aircraft torebuild, sell, and display. TIGHAR wasestablished in the War Bird Movement inthe 1980s which was to find the artifacts ofwar, to preserve and conserve for posteritybefore the precious mementos werestripped of their authenticity, rebuilt, andparaded as originals.

The data plate, he added, is theairplane. Antique aircraft, those over fiftyyears old, were scavenged by aviation buffs without regard to their origin orimportance. People were locating dataplates, rebuilding pieces of found aircraft,and cal l ing them original , he said.TIGHAR was founded to locate historic


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downed aircraft and preserve them for theworlds heritage.

Maj McKenna, a member of the Boulder

Composite Squadron, said the missions arenot unlike Civil Air Patrols Search andRescue sorties. Given reason to locate lostor downed aircraft, the team uses itsconsiderable human resources to locate,uncover, and research lost artifacts.

Maj Mckenna lives in Boulder with his wife,Jacquie, and daughters, Xan and Juliana.

Maj Bruce Hertelendy, COWG and

squadron Disaster Preparedness Officeralways cautions us to prepare for theunexpected crisis by stocking survival itemsin our cars and homes. If you were onEarharts mission what would you havetaken with you?

Earharts personal drive and energy, and the public adulationthat followed each event spurred her on to greater heights.Her accomplishments continued to cry out for anotherchallenge, another first, and even more acclaim as other women pilots, like Jacquie Cochran, chased fame andadventure. Some of Earharts accomplishments are as follows:

Woman's world altitude record: 14,000 ft (1922)First woman to fly the Atlantic (1928)Speed records for 100 km (and with 500 lb (1931)First woman to fly an autogyro(1931)Altitude record for autogyros: 15,000 ft (1931)First person to cross the U.S. in an autogyro (1932)First woman to fly the Atlantic solo (1932)First person to fly the Atlantic twice (1932)First woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross(1932)First woman to fly non-stop, coast-to-coast across the U.S. (1933)Woman's speed transcontinental record (1933)First person to fly solo between Honolulu, Hawaii and Oakland, California(1935)First person to fly solo from Los Angeles, California to Mexico City, Mexico (1935)

First person to fly solo nonstop from Mexico City, Mexico to Newark, New Jersey(1935

)

Speed record for east-to-west flight from Oakland, California to Honolulu, Hawaii(1937)

Reaching for the Sun: Just One More Questfor Earhart

Earharts final challenge proved fatal. The woman who was largely self-made, constantly soughtways to prove herself. Mary Earhart (Amelia) born July 24, 1897, accomplished an amazinglifetime of honors and awards, went missing July 2, 1937, and was declared legally dead January 5,1939. The search for her remains continues. Many books and movies have been made of herAmazonian feats of courage. The most recent isAmelia starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.

The French Governmentconferred the Cross of theKnights of the Legion of Honorto Earhart in June 1932.

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toEncyclopediaBrittanica
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguished_Flying_Cross_(United_States)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguished_Flying_Cross_(United_States)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogyrohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autogyro


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AWARDS & PROMOTIONS

2d Lt Karl Feth is promoted

to Major

Capt Lt Mike Linn received the BenjaminO. Davis Award for completing LVII.

Squadron

Mee

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SM Scott Lyons CompletedLVI and was promoted to2d Lt

SM Marcia Skinnercompleted LVI

PresenterMaj Andrew McKennas quest for adventure tosolve the centurys most puzzling disappearanceof an aircraft drove him to join a group ofscientific mystery-solving specialists on no lessthan three missions with TiGHAR. Themissions focused on the island Nikumaroro inthe Republic of Kiribatiin in the GilbertIslands. Clues continue to tantalize the AmeliaEarhart expeditions that began back in 1937

when Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonanwere reported lost in the islands of the Pacific.The expeditions totaling in the missions ofdollars continue to try to solve the mystery.Please see pp 1, 2, and 4.

Currently, Maj McKenna serves as OperationsOfficer at Boulder. He also has served sSquadron CC from 2000-2004. In the past he

has also been a Mission Pilot and also MissionAircrew Qualified.

He was also featured in a 2007 Airwaves whenTIGHAR was in search of a WWII downedP-38.


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NOVEMBER

18 Squadron General Meeting

20 Squadron Exercise23 Orientation Meeting

29-30 ICS 300, Salida Contact Mike McDonald at http://www.coemergency.com

DECEMBER2 Staff Meeting

4 Air Crew Clinic8 Mountain Flying Seminar **18 Mountain Flying Clinic **

19 Christmas Party, Western Air Flight Academy,time 3:00-6:00 pm

ICS 300 and 400 available on request:[email protected]

*ICS 300 is required for IC, OSC, PSC, LSC, FASC,

AOBD, GBD, IO, CUL, MSO, and LO.*Contact:

[email protected]

** Independence Aviation 303.858.1600

Colorado Pilots Association, CPA, hasnumerous fly-in opportunities--many inColorado, some out of state--too many to printhere. For more information visit

http://coloradopilots.org/

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HappyBirthday!

Randy Huiting

SkipHyde

Mike Linn

Todd Sainer

Officer Contacts

Commander:

Capt Jennifer Kauffman! [email protected]: Capt Jason Rew! [email protected]: Maj Skip Hyde

[email protected]

Communications:Maj Lynn Newman

! [email protected]: 1Lt Thomas Porcaro

! [email protected] Development

Maj Victor Sabatini

[email protected]

Personnel, Memberships

SM Marcia Skinner, Memberships

! [email protected]

MARK YOUR CALENDAR !

Web Site Information

CAPNHQ www.gocivilairpatrol.com

Jeffco Squadron Web site:http://www.coloradowingcap.org/jeffco

AirwavesEditor: [email protected]

DOES FLYING MAKE YOUSICK?

! !

Visit the websitewww.stopdizziness.com formore information.

Your stomach just doesnt understand why youwant to fly when every movement in the airplane causes your innards to jingle and jangle.

AOPA has a plan to help you calm yourstomach and achieve your lifelong desire to bea pilot. The National Dizzy and BalanceCenter in Edina, Minnesota, thinks it has asolution for you.
http://www.coloradowingcap.org/jeffcohttp://www.gocivilairpatrol.gov/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.stopdizziness.com/http://www.stopdizziness.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.coloradowingcap.org/jeffcohttp://www.coloradowingcap.org/jeffcohttp://www.gocivilairpatrol.gov/http://www.gocivilairpatrol.gov/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://coloradopilots.org/http://coloradopilots.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.coemergency.com/http://www.coemergency.com/


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CAPT P.D. SARGENT

With his experience and

focus, he takesoutstanding pictures ofspecial events, meeting,SAREXs, and Civ i lPatrol life in general.Arif is the SeniorSoftware Engineer atWebroot Software Inc.in Boulder. Please seehis hotos on a es .

PAO team leader, Dr.

Sargent is responsible forthe design and format ofthe newsletter. Tricia willbe leaving the squadronDec 31 to focus on thenew family business.

Please contact her withsuggestions or cor-rections [email protected]

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Thanks to proo"eaders

Maj Bruce Hertelendy, and Dick Sargent

Contributors

2LT ARIF GEZALOV

PHOTOGRAPHERSTAFF WRITERS

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Missing MentionHello, Interesting thatAirwaves, pp. 1 and 4, mentionsthe presence at the RMMA Air Show of Army, Navy,Marines, Coast Guard, and Civil Air Patrol, but left outthe Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard(as well as the German Air Force! They all displayedinteresting aircraft at the Air Show, though one wouldn'tknow without having been there, since none appear[s] in

any of the photos. Just an observation.Victor

Sorry, Victor, Mea Culpa. Sorry I missed some. I tried toemphasize the people who made the Air Show successful, ED

CommendationsCongratulations....Another winner!!! Fred McFarland

Tricia, HooRah -This was one of the bestAirwaves Ihave seen. Skip Hyde

Tricia, What an excellent presentation and coverage ofour CAP activities presented in a very professional,

exciting, and readable newsletter. You are doing amarvelous job. Thank you. Sam

Thank you a# for your support. I try to be everywhere and doeverything but o$en miss the mark. I hope November andDecember wi#be great. They wi#be our last Airwaves as I wi#be retiring at the end of December.

Capt Patricia Sargent, PAO Team Leader and Editor.

Ryan Joseph Sainer entered the world October 12, at 2:46am in Denver. He arrived weighing in at 7 lb. 5 oz. andmeasuring 20 inches long. Baby and Mom, Shannon, arehealthy and doing great!Dad looks proud as punch! 2dLt Todd Sainer is a member of the Public Affairs Team.

1ST LT LUC MOENSSenior Research Scientist,Chemist, at the NREL, inGolden, Dr. Moens isact ive ly engaged inbiofuel research. Heenjoys educating thepublic about ongoingR&D. Please see hisarticle on Maj Andrew McKenna on page 2.

He can be contacted [email protected].

New Arrival!
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

jeffco squadron - oct 2010

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