NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Earhart Failure Mode?
From: Chris Maness
Date: 2026 Oct 21, 08:34 -0700
From: Chris Maness
Date: 2026 Oct 21, 08:34 -0700
Yes, that is a fair assesment of the situation. I am confident that they did not intentionally turn back. I am just wondering if it is just failing to see the island though they were on top of it because of visual limitations.
They should have turned back when the discovered their receiver was on the fritz. I know hindsight is 20/20, but that would have likely made the differnce. And if it was a nav error, they may have caught it if the expected bearing did not match the DF loop null. Also not ditching the MF antenna and being more proficient in CW would have helped.
-Chris KQ6UP
