Amelia Earhart, What happened to her?

When talking about badass women Amelia Earhart is almost always on the list. She was the first woman to fly solo across the atlantic and had numerous recognitions as a pilot. But what really happened to Amelia Earhart? And why does her disappearance garner so much attention?

Image credit: wikipedia.org

The Tragic Journey

Although she has many accolades bestowed upon her she is best known for her attempt at the tragic journey across the world. On June 1 1937 Amelia set off from Oakland California , with Fred Noonan as navigator. One by one their targets were met : Florida, Brazil, Dakar in West Africa, East Africa, Pakistan, India, Myanmar, Singapore and New Guinea. At 10 am July 2 the pair set off from Lae in New Guinea to begin the final part of their journey. The long haul across the Pacific Ocean.

Disappearance

Their aim was to land next to tiny Howland Island, a mere speckle compared to the vast Pacific ocean. The American coast guard was waiting anxiously transmitting homing signals to aid their navigation. As the scheduled time of arrival came the coast guard picked up broken messages from Amelia ‘30 minutes….gas remaining… no landfall….Circling, trying to pick up island landfall, position doubtful…’ and then there was silence. Despite having a massive 2 week search by the Americans the pair were never found. According to official reports Amelia and her navigator must ran out of fuel and drowned at sea.

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Amelia Earhart’s Final Flight

Mysteries

Some reports suggest that radio operators picked up messages indicating that her plane had landed on a coral reef. Jacqueline Cochran a close friend of Amelia and a self proclaimed psychic added fuel to the controversy by proclaiming she could sense the ditched pair still afloat at sea.

Spy?

During the Second World War , a new theory popped up that Amelia Earhart was a Japanese captive. Dr Brittain then president of Georgia Tech University suggested that Amelia had been on a surveillance mission for the US government and had been ordered to fly over the Marshall islands about 1000km north of Howland island. She was thought to have been captured and taken prisoner when she witnessed illegal Japanese fortifications in the area. Sceptics remain to this theory as it is without doubt the US military provided Amelia with technical and financial assistance as Franklin Roosevelt appreciated its value in improving national moral. If there was any cover up it probably was to cover up Amelia’s failures as a pilot. She should have delayed take off until the weather improved, kept regular contact with those monitoring her and she should also have carried flares.

Long after the war these theories continued to fascinate. There were numerous ‘sightings’ of a white female pilot , author Fred Goernor claimed to have evidence that the pair had ditched the coral reef and had been taken to questioning in Saipan, Japan’s military headquarters. Then he believed that they were subsequently executed. Weirder theories proliferated one suggested that Amelia was alive and well living in New Jersey under the name “Irene Bolam” , This gained some traction until the real Irene Bolam sued.

But what really happened?

Bones found on a remote pacific island may finally provide the clue as to what happened to her 80 years. Among all the exotic theories that surround her disappearances , the likeliest is the most dull and humdrum for all her charisma and bravery . Amelia Earhart was a normal mortal who paid the ultimate price for her failures.