TIGHAR
{{short description|Research and recovery group for historical aircraft}}
{{Infobox Organization
|name = The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery
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The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) is an American nonprofit organization based in Pennsylvania. It was founded by Richard Gillespie in 1985. According to TIGHAR's Federal Tax Exemption Form 990 for Non Profits, the organization's mission is to "promote responsible aviation archaeological and historic preservation".{{Cite web |url=https://tighar.org/ |title=The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery
|website=tighar.org |access-date=12 December 2024}}
Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan
TIGHAR has long been involved with the search for Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/09/15/amelia-earhart-didnt-die-in-a-plane-crash-this-search-group-says-here-is-its-theory/| title=Amelia Earhart didn't die in a plane crash, investigators say. This is their theory| first=Cleve| last=Wootson| date=November 2, 2016| accessdate=July 6, 2017| work=Washington Post}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/group-hopes-to-end-amelia-earhart-mystery/| first=Kenly| last=Walker| date=July 12, 2007| title=Group Hopes To End Amelia Earhart Mystery| accessdate=July 5, 2017| work=CBS News}} and advocates the theory that Earhart and Noonan landed on Gardner Island, now known as Nikumaroro.{{cite book|author= Lori Van Pelt |title= Amelia Earhart: The Sky's No Limit| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W3cpa3vXcH0C&pg=PA215| date=2006| publisher= Tom Doherty Associates| isbn= 978-0-7653-1062-0| page=215| quote=Executive Director Ric Gillespie has visited the island of Nikumaroro in the Phoenix Island group seven times since 1989.| accessdate=2013-06-08}}{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/amelia-earhart-fred-noonan-remains-search-nikumaroro-627886| title=Search for Amelia Earhart: Dogs to Help Solve Mystery by Hunting for Pilot's Remains on Uninhabited South Pacific Island| first=Hannah| last=Osborne| date=June 21, 2017| work=Newsweek}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/27/world/amelia-earhart-search-dogs.html| title=Amelia Earhart's Disappearance Still Captivates Searchers, 80 Years Later| first=Jacey| last=Fortin| date=June 27, 2017| accessdate=July 5, 2017| work=New York Times}}
In 2012, TIGHAR was searching for clues around the Kiribati Islands using sonar equipment with the help of the State Department and undersea explorer Robert Ballard.{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/hillary-clinton-welcomes-amelia-earhart-exhibition-renewed-discovery/story?id=15958972| title=Hillary Clinton Welcomes Amelia Earhart Exhibition and Renewed Discovery Effort| first1=Kevin| last1=Dolak| first2=Dana| last2=Hughes| date=March 20, 2012| accessdate=July 5, 2017| work=ABC News}}
Ballard led a 2019 expedition to locate Earhart's Electra or evidence that it landed on Nikumaroro as supposed by the Gardner/Nikumaroro hypothesis. After days of searching the deep cliffs supporting the island and the nearby ocean using state of the art equipment and technology, Ballard did not find any evidence of the plane or any associated wreckage of it. Allison Fundis, Ballard's Chief Operating Officer of the expedition, stated, “We felt like if her plane was there, we would have found it pretty early in the expedition.” Although Ballard maintains that the plane or significant portions still exist and will eventually be found, TIGHAR argues that the Electra has been "broken up" by the surf and other harsh environmental elements.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/14/science/amelia-earhart-robert-ballard.html|title=The Amelia Earhart Mystery Stays Down in the Deep|last=Cohn|first=Julie|date=2019-10-14|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-12-01|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Nonprofit-Organization/TIGHAR-224536440657/posts/|title=TIGHAR|website=www.facebook.com|language=en|access-date=2019-12-01}}
Glenn Miller
In January 2019, it was reported that TIGHAR would investigate Glenn Miller's disappearance.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-dorset-46863606|title=Team to probe Glenn Miller 'crash site'|date=14 January 2019|publisher=|via=www.bbc.com}} Per a BBC report, TIGHAR's interest in Glenn Miller was inspired by a fisherman's claims that he caught a plane wreck in his nets, then released it. Although TIGHAR has failed to independently corroborate the claims to date, and have not seen or verified the wreck, they maintain that there is a possibility that the reported debris could be associated with Glenn Miller. "These things often start with stories", says TIGHAR Executive Director Ric Gillespie.
References
{{reflist|40em}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://tighar.org/|name=The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery}}
- [https://www.c-span.org/video/?318259-1/amelia-earhart-expedition Panel discussion on the disappearance of Amelia Earhart with members of TIGHAR, March 12, 2014]