It was noted at the time that if these signals were from Earhart and Noonan, they must have been on land with the aircraft since water would have otherwise shorted out the Electra's electrical system.
Pada waktu itu, jika sinyal tersebut berasal dari Earhart dan Noonan, mereka pasti berada di darat dengan pesawat terbang dan air akan memendekkan sistem listrik Elektra.