The Great Unsolved Mystery of Amelia Earhart

The uncanny disappearance of Amelia Earhart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s now more than 80 years since world-famous aviator Amelia Earhart went missing. However, her intriguing story remains as much a mystery today as it was then. Her disappearance somewhere in the Pacific region in 1937, still sparks much intrigue, hypothesis, and speculation. However, just what are the facts surrounding the disappearance of the famous flyer?

In 1937, Amelia Earhart was already a global celebrity, known as a best-selling author and feminist icon. She was also a good friend to the then-first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. However, she was almost certainly best-known, a rarity of the time, as a female adventurer and aviator. She had been the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lost Plane

On 2 July 1937, she was nearing the end of an attempt on the around-the-world flight record, with navigator Fred Noonan. However, they went missing somewhere over the Pacific in their Lockheed L-10E Electra twin-engine plane. They had already circumnavigated around 75% of the globe when they set off at midnight on 2 July.

They were to fly the next leg of their journey, the 2,556 miles (4,113 km) from Lae in New Guinea to Howland Island, a tiny coral atoll. The US Coast Guard cutter stationed on the island had arranged to meet them on landing. However, although the boat had picked up some garbled radio transmissions, the plane itself never arrived. It later transpired that the charts being used by Earhart and Noonan for the journey were inaccurate.

A massive air-sea search was quickly launched, focusing on the most obvious scenario. It was assumed that the plane had run out of fuel and had ditched somewhere along its planned line of travel. This was assumed as being from its last known position to the northwest of Howland Island. Ships in the area progressed full steam ahead towards the search zone. Hopes were high for the pair’s rescue when further transmissions were picked up.

The US Navy concentrated its search around the uninhabited Phoenix Islands. The islands, several hundred miles southwest of Howland, were where the plane’s last radio signals had originated  The navy’s planes made a sighting of “signs of recent habitation” on Gardner Island, one of the Phoenix group. On 18 July, just a few days short of Earhart’s 40th birthday, the search for the missing plane was abandoned.

Supposition and Conjecture

In January 1939, Earhart and Noonan were officially announced dead, in absentia. However, not unsurprisingly, this did little to stem the flow of conjecture and conspiracy theories about the missing pair. The most popular theory was that Earhart’s plane simply ran out of fuel, crashed into the ocean, and sank in deep water. This was recognised by both the U.S. government, and Earhart’s and Noonan’s families, as the most likely cause of their disappearance. In 2002, and 2006, a deep-sea vessel from the Nauticos Corporation made a further search for Earhart’s plane. They concentrated at the spot where Earhart was assumed to have her last radio transmission. However, the exploration did not yield any findings.

Gardner Island

Another popular theory was that Earhart and Noonan had managed to land their plane on Gardner Island (now Nikumaroro Island), 350 miles southwest of Howland Island. In 1941, a skull, along with leg and arm bones, was found on the island. However, after scientific analysis, it was concluded that the bones belonged to a man from the region.

In 1998, researchers from The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) re-examined the results from the 1941 study. However, not the bones, as they themselves had been lost. The study determined that the bones came from a woman of European ancestry of Earhart’s height. The conclusion was that the bones were almost certainly those of Amelia Earhart. This was accompanied by a significant amount of circumstantial evidence to support the theory that Earhart had made it to the island.

Significantly, it came to light during the study that the plane had been fitted with extra fuel tanks. This gave the plane more flying time than originally thought. This gave extra kudos to the supposition that Earhart and Noonan had made it to the atoll and lived for a time as castaways. Relying on rain for drinking water, they had eventually died when the water ran out. However, this hypothesis was dismissed by many experts. The main issue with the theory was that US Navy planes had thoroughly searched the 4-mile-long Gardner Island at the time of disappearance.

The Marshall Islands

Another of the main conspiracy theories was that Earhart and Noonan were unable to find Howland Island. They had then headed north to the Japanese-controlled Marshall Islands, where they were arrested as spies. Rumours later began to surface that there had been eyewitnesses who had seen evidence of the pair’s captivity. Soldier, John Naftel, was on the Pacific Island of Tinian in 1944, just after its liberation. He claimed to have seen the graves of Earhart and Noonan on the island. However, a thorough search for the burial site carried out in 2004, proved futile.

The island of Saipan has also been cited as the place of Earhart’s death. In 1937, a French consul alerted the US State Department to the rumour, but a detailed search was fruitless. In 2017, a near 80-year-old ‘lost’ photo was uncovered in the US National Archives. The photo was initially believed to depict Earhart and Noonan in the Marshall Islands, shortly after their disappearance. However, the photo did not stand up to further scrutiny. Furthermore, Japanese authorities have said that there are no records indicating that Earhart was ever in Japanese custody.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alive and Well

Another popular conspiracy theory is that of author WC Jameson, who wrote the book: “Amelia Earhart: Beyond the Grave”. He claimed in the book that it was common knowledge in “high-ranking intelligence circles” that Earhart was involved in intelligence-gathering operations. Another author, Joseph Gervais, claimed in “Amelia Earhart Lives” that she survived the plane crash and was taken prisoner by the Japanese. Gervais maintained that after the war, Earhart repatriated to New Jersey. There, she adopted the name Irene Bolam and became a banker. Bolam sued Jameson for a substantial sum for the claims made in his book, but the rumours persisted.

The Blue Angel Project

In June 2017, researchers travelled to Nikumaroro Island with specially trained dogs that could sniff out decaying human remains. They were extremely hopeful that they would uncover evidence to finally solve the Earhart mystery. However, they were disappointed as no bones were found.

In August 2018, exploration of a crash-site, off the coast of PNG was carried out. Known as the Blue Angel Project, the mission was following up on a well-known story of the late 1930s. It was said that a little boy on Buka Island, on the east coast of PNG, had seen a plane on fire that had crashed onto a beach. The boy told the story to his elders, but they didn’t believe him. However, it was later discovered to be seemingly true. Strong tides had quickly dragged the plane offshore and underwater, where it now rests covered with coral.

At the time, the Director of the project, William Snavely said “We’re still exploring to try to find out whose plane it is. We don’t want to jump ahead and assume that it’s Amelia’s”. However, the group later released information that stated the sunken plane seemed to match certain characteristics of the Lockheed Electra L-10E. The premise of the would-be discovery was that Earhart and Noonan must have turned the plane around after encountering strong headwinds. Running low on fuel, the pair realised they wouldn’t make it to Howland Island. Thus, they re-routed to Buka, since it had the nearest known runway.

Up to now March 2021, the Blue Angel exploration in Papua New Guinea had still proved inconclusive. Mr Snavely, who has been making trips to the area since 2005, in connection with unearthing Earhart’s doomed plane, said much more analysis is needed. The group is currently attempting to raise money through crowdfunding for further search and research of the area.

In Summary

Today, Earhart’s true fate still remains a mystery. Perhaps it will, for all eternity? Bram Kleppner, Earhart’s great-nephew, was born a few days after her disappearance. His thought is that maybe it’s better the mystery remains unsolved. He said, referring to her activism and other aspects of her life, “Amelia’s life was much more interesting than her disappearance”. He went on to say that he thought the monies spent trying to find her could have perhaps been better spent solving contemporary issues.

Amelia Earhart was survived by her husband George Putnam. She penned him, her last letter, just before setting off on her round-the-world voyage, in case she didn’t return. An extract from the letter reads:

“Please know I am quite aware of the hazards, I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.”

 

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