Dr. Norman Geisler sums up why the discovery on Mt. Ararat can’t be a hoax:
Norman Geisler is a Christian systematic theologian, philosopher, and apologist. He is the co-founder of two non-denominational Evangelical seminaries (Veritas Evangelical Seminary and Southern Evangelical Seminary.) He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Loyola University and is well known for his scholarly contributions to the subjects of classical Christian apologetics, systematic theology, the history of philosophy, philosophy of religion, the creationism and evolution debate, Calvinism, Roman Catholicism, biblical inerrancy, Bible difficulties, ethics, and more. He is the author, coauthor, or editor of over 90 books and hundreds of articles. (Wikipedia)
The cumulative case of the following factors makes it virtually impossible that it is a hoax.
1. It is too old. It is built from timber that has been radiocarbon and archaeologically dated to the time of Noah (3rd millennium B.C.)
2. It is too high. Part of the structure is found at 15,000 feet in the permanent snow cap, far above the tree line and too high to construct the structure that has been found there.
3. It is too deeply buried. Under 20-30 feet of frozen volcanic rock and ice. Sub-freezing temperatures make it virtually impossible to construct a large ship under those conditions.
4. It is too unstable and dangerous in its location. One site leans precariously on a ledge, another on the side of a glacier slowing moving down the mountain. Large rocks regularly tumble the mountain burying the structure and threatening the life of workers.
5. It is too big. It is in at least two pieces which together appear to be about the size of Noah’s Ark (450 feet long). Dragging that much timber that high, fabricating and assembling all the intricate wooden joints is too much for this this height and temperature.
6. It is too complicated. It has a bowed hull, three decks, numerous square deep wooden joints for square wooden nails, tongue and grooved joined boards with evidence of handcraft: too intricate and complex to construct under difficult conditions.
7. It is too antique. It antique construction unfamiliar to modern Noah’s Ark Replica builders: wooden nails, mortice-and-tenon joints, and ancient ladders.
8. It is too advanced. It contains advanced wheel-made pottery from Noah’s time (Early Bronze), not the primitive technology that many attribute to the time of Noah.
9. It is too ancient. Surface patina on it does not exist on recently fabricated boards, and there is no known way to fabricate it.
10. It was too quickly constructed. Noah and his family worked on level ground for perhaps 120 years. But no one could build this big ship on a high mountain under these seemingly impossible conditions in the few weeks per year after melt water stops flowing and before winter snow prevents access to the sites.
(Source: Is the Ark-Like Wooden Structure Found on Mt. Ararat a Hoax? May 2016 (http://arkapology.com/is-the-ark-like-wooden-structure-found-on-mt-ararat-a-hoax)