Signal strength is an unreliable indicator of distance, however, the Itasca logged signal strengths of AE in-flight position reports, and it is worthy to examine this data.

The chart below shows AE’s approximate distance from Itasca for each of AE’s en route position reports.

No specific conclusions can be made from this data, although, it has merit for qualitative assessments. Final AE radio transmissions were logged with strong signal strengths, alluding to an aircraft very near the Itasca.