"Aside from the lamentable encouragement of souvenir
hunting, the comment fails to acknowledge that the scattered B-25
wreckage lies at the base of a truly spectacular reef whose profusion
of Porites sp. corals make it a potentially popular sport diving
destination in its own right."
Their pages are full of stuff like this. They must not be Real
Warbird Enthusiasts. Real Warbird Enthusiasts don't talk about the
various species of coral growths by their Latin genus. They don't go
on and on about missing pieces either being caused by the crash, or
vandalism at 125ft below the ocean. They wouldn't let the possibility
of disturbing some fish stand in their way to positively identify the plane
(OK, I made that last one up, but a Real Warbird Enthusiast would
take that fish and cook it for dinner anyway).
Tighar is the group that has "FOUND" Ms Earhart's a/c, several times, with no conclusive proof, but a whole lot of loud self-promotion. Apparently their PR department is much more effective than their recovery efforts in the field.
I bet most people who have been following their "efforts" over the years have a "will believe it, when we see it" attitude about them.
My feeling...let them have their fun...it doesn't hurt me and I don't have to believe anything they say.
However, even a clock that's broke is right twice each day, so, who knows? They might actually one day accomplish something significant. More power to them.
I really don't know much about this group...are they a fly-by-night salvaging operation? Some kind of government agency tasked with recovering aircraft? Whatever they are, I have yet to hear anything positive about them from other warbird enthusiasts.
Editorial comment: they take their own press releases too seriously. Fortunately for them, their lack of credibility is only offset by the size of their egos.
I have heard much about Tighar, and having an admittedly
great looking web site about a couple TBDs should have, in
my mind, focused more on the planes, the operation, and the
recovery plan, as opposed to lamenting about being a beautiful
dive spot and listing the different coral typed growing on the
planes. It's all about priorities.
