Amelia Earhart by Hannah Blackwell

     

Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly a transatlantic flight. Following her first flight across the Atlantic, she was well recognized and accredited for her many daring flights (Amelia Earhart Disappears). Amelia reported that “there is just about one more good flight left in my system” when addressing the last flight of her life (“The Ever-Evolving Amelia Earhart Mystery: A Timeline.”). Amelia Earhart disappeared during a flight around the world on July 2, 1937 (Wilkinson). Over the past 79 years since her disappearance, many conspiracy have arisen:

1.      Did Earhart run out of fuel, crash, and perish in the ocean? (Hanes)

2.      Did Earhart land on Saipan and get executed by the Japanese?(1)

3.       Did Earhart land safely on Gardner Island (now known as Nikumaroro) and die before rescued?

Let us examine what really happen to Amelia Earhart during her last flight on July 2^nd, and explore the idea of Amelia being a castaway and dying on Gardner Island.

            Amelia Earhart was an adventurous and determined woman who broke many status quos and cultural norms of her time through flying. She fell in love with planes and the idea of flying at a young age while witnessing a plane in flight. After a generous pilot offered her a ride on December 18, 1920 and she was quoted saying, “by the time I had got two or three hundred feet off the ground, I knew I had to fly" (Official Website of Amelia Earhart). After that, she was convinced she was destined to be a pilot, a career in which very few women were a part of and those that were, were not very successful.

Amelia was not just a dreamer but a doer. After graduating high school and dropping out of a finishing school for girls, she participated in her first flight lesson on January 3, 1921. (1) Within 6 months, she saved up her money to purchase a small personal plane named “The Canary“.(2) Within a month of her being a passenger in a plane for the first time, she started on the goal of becoming a pilot, Amelia got her stuff together and jumped on opportunities to achieve her dreams.

Amelia was determined and motivated to pave new paths for women. When a phone call came 7 years later asking her to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, she couldn’t turn it down. (3) The flight was known to be dangerous and uncompleted by any other women, Amelia decided to take a leap and do it anyways. Following that flight, she became a celebrity and a picture for women while reaching and achieving her goals. Although her fame and accomplishments seemed like a huge step for her, and it was, that was only the tip of the iceberg. On that flight across the Atlantic, she was merely a passenger, but she had so much planned for her future and her dreams were becoming larger than ever imagined by people in her age. Amelia went on to be the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Accomplishment after accomplishment, she broke down barriers and reached her personal goals all while risking her life. Amelia loved what she did and loved breaking records and achieving new “highs” for herself. Although, as her life went on, her drive and ambition lead to her mysterious death at the age of 40.

          

  Amelia’s internal conflict was that she was a feminist woman and strived every day to work past that barrier and prove herself. To her, the label of a “woman” didn’t mean a whole lot, she didn’t let it define her. According to the biography on her website, she has never really cared about what girls were supposed to act. (4) Young Amelia, “climbed trees, "belly slammed" her sled to start it downhill, and hunted rats with a .22 rifle,” she was anything but a proper young lady. (5) As she grew up, that attitude did not fade and she was just as determined to be different. She went through life with a conquer-all attitude and set many unbelievable records in her day. Her desire to set records and pave a new path for women in the world ended in her death.

            Earhart’s external conflict was the lack of women in her career field and the label she had to overcome. Amelia was a “pioneering aviator and inspirational figure” throughout her career. (“Amelia Earhart”) The idea of a woman flying was practically unheard of and even looked down on by some, but Amelia did it anyways. She achieved so many goals that seemed unattainable or even dangerous for women at that time. Continuing her dedication of seeing women succeed, she later became the president of Ninety-Nines, which “is an organization of women pilots.”(“Amelia Earhart”) Amelia overcame her conflicts and became a very successful woman in her career field, despite any kind of “disadvantages” she had. By the end of her life and career she was loved by many and role model for women everywhere.

            In the case of the mysterious disappearance of Amelia Earhart in 1937, there are three popular conspiracy theories. The first theory involves Amelia crashing landing and perishing in the ocean, while the last two theories suggest she landed safely on an island and died because of later events.

            The first theory suggest that Amelia and her navigator Fred Noonan ran out of fuel, crashed in open water and perished on impact. Most people find this theory the easiest to believe because there is nothing really unbelievable about it. This theory is simple and realistic. Earhart and Noonan left Lae, New Guinea on July 2^nd, after stopping to refuel (“Amelia Earhart”) and the theory suggested that on their way to the next stop, tiny Howland Island, they got off course. Everyone involved knew the trip from Lae to Howland Island was going to be tough because of the miniscule size of the island, so they tried counteracting the risk by stationing a U.S. Coast Guard ship, the Itasca, at the island.(1) Despite their best efforts, navigational mistakes and confusion happened, as well communication problems with the ship that was meant to help them see and land on the island. (2)  The staff on the Itasca that were communicating with Amelia and Noonan, heard their last worried transmission of their rough location before everything went quite (PioneerproductinUK).

 At this point, the theory goes on to say that on July 2^nd, Earhart and Noonan ran out of fuel and crashed into ocean. After that President Franklin Roosevelt then called for a large naval search that cost about 4 million dollars. Even though no remains were found, agencies that believe this theory to be true are still searching for the plane (PioneerproductionUK).

            The second theory involves a Japanese island, Saipan. The theory projects that Amelia and Fred crashed somewhere amidst the Marshall Island and were taken to Saipan, where they later got executed (Martinileaks). This theory seems to be the local’s favorite on the Gardner Islands and sprouted from many eyewitness accounts from residents on the islands. An overwhelming number of accounts, first and second hand, were reported on the video, “Eyewitnesses on Saipan Amelia Earhart”. (1) Many of the eye witnesses’ stories went along the same story: a tall woman with blonde hair and a tall man, who were both pilots, were being escorted throughout the islands and then went to Saipan to be executed (2). Not many report seeing an airplane crash or Earhart and Noonan being executed, just the vague, middle, and likable part of the story. Something occurred many times through the interviews, no witness was ever given a name or knew a name of the people they saw (3). While reporting the story to the video crew, many stated that they didn’t know who the man or woman was, just that they were on the islands (4). This theory is missing the identity of the outsiders on the islands and the whole part of evidence, as the article stated, “No physical evidence has been offered to back up these verbal accounts,” (“Amelia Earhart”).

            The last theory takes place on the Nikumaroro Island, also known as Gardner Island. According to the theory, Earhart and Noonan had to make an emergency/crash landing close or on Nikumaroro Island (Roach & Than). After they landed, it is believed that they survived and lived on the island for a short period of time, then died, from injuries sustained, before anyone found them. A large believer in this theory is International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR). They have invested a lot of time and energy into investigating the island and everything on it during their Earhart Project (Szalay). Over the course of their expeditions, they have found a lot of evidence that point to the island as the place of refuge. TIGHAR’s team has come across, “traces of campfires, pieces of pocketknife, fragments of cosmetic jar and make up, and bone fragments,” (“What happened to Amelia Earhart?”). Another piece of evidence found was a part of a plane that was on Nikumaroro (Mejia). The fragment is believed to be “a metal fragment” from Earhart’s Lockheed Electra (1). If all those pieces of evidence go together, then this theory may be a solid contender for the solution to the mystery.  If not, then all the nick knacks and random artifacts that were found were nothing but lost items.

            The most plausible theory is that Earhart and Noonan crash landed in the ocean and died on impact. This theory makes the most sense because the situation they were in was an emergency, and they were trained professionals. To say that Amelia and Fred missed Howland Island by hundreds of miles either way is an insult to both of their careers. It is not really realistic for Earhart’s plane to get that off course to land on another island. Their destination, Howland Island, was secluded in the middle of a lot of water and not near any other islands. It is more believable that because of bad weather and poor communication that Earhart would’ve gotten a little of track and ran out of fuel before finding the island. In addition, the fact that no one found the plane isn’t that mysterious. After all, they crashed in the middle of the ocean that is thousands of feet deep and in a highly unpopulated area. The chances that they crashed and drowned and no one were able to find them are very high.

            A survey of twenty people revealed that 70% agree that Amelia crash landed into the Pacific Ocean and perished. A documentary, World of Mystery- In search of Amelia Earhart, explaining and examining the last flight from Lae to Howland, goes in depth to examine what went wrong and how it went wrong and where Earhart most likely crashed according to her radio transmissions. According to the documentary, Amelia was very close to finding the island but perished because of the shortage of gas (PioneerproductionsUK). Unfortunately, nothing has been decided or discovered in the case of Amelia Earhart, but teams like TIGHAR are continuously searching (1).

            Ever since Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan disappeared on July 2, 1937, people have been searching for answers. So far, no one has discovered any solid conclusion on what happened to them, and it still remains a mystery. Even though Amelia disappeared that day, her values and drive to see women be successful still live on.

            Amelia was a well-beloved woman pilot and had the attention of the whole country. Because of her fame and talent, no one was expecting for her to disappear (Amelia Earhart Disappears). Since Amelia Earhart’s disappearance 79 years ago, theories have emerged from the confusion and mystery. The theories that remain most prominent are that: Amelia’s plane ran out of fuel and she perished in the ocean, Amelia landed somewhere close to Saipan Island and was alter executed, and Amelia crash landed on Gardner Island and die before being rescued/found (Hanes). Although, the first theory proves to be the most realistic explanation of why no one found Earhart or her plane, but still groups remain in search of evidence of her or her plane.

Work Cited:

“Amelia Earhart Disappears.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/amelia-earhart-disappears.

Hanes, Elizabeth. “What Happened to Amelia?: 9 Tantalizing Theories About the Earhart Disappearance.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2 July 2012, http://www.history.com/news/what-happened-to-amelia-9-tantalizing-theories-about-the-earhart-disappearance

MartiniLeaks. "Eyewitnesses on Saipan Amelia Earhart." YouTube. YouTube, 30 July 2015. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nju6Tr7yhE

Mejia, Paula. "Mystery of Amelia Earhart Solved? Fragment From Missing Plane Identified." Newsweek. N.p., 04 Mar. 2016. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. http://www.newsweek.com/mystery-amelia-earhart-solved-fragment-fallen-plane-identified-280856

PioneerProductionsUK. "World of Mysteries - In Search of Amelia Earhart." YouTube. YouTube, 06 Aug. 2014. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPrBgNXpV7w

Roach, John, and Ker Than. "Where Is Amelia Earhart? Three Theories but No Smoking Gun." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/07/120724-amelia-earhart-google-doodle-fred-noonan-115th-nation-science/

Szalay, Jessie. "Amelia Earhart: Biography & Facts About Disappearance." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. http://www.livescience.cin/29363-amelia-earhart.html

“The Ever-Evolving Amelia Earhart Mystery: A Timeline.” The Ever-Evolving Amelia Earhart Mystery: A Timeline, 21 Mar. 2012, http://theweek.com/articles/477104/everevolving-amelia-earhart-mystery-timeline.

“The Official Website of Amelia Earhart.” The Official Website of Amelia Earhart, http://www.ameliaearhart.com/about/bio.html

"What Happened to Amelia Earhart?" History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. http://www.history.com/topics/what-happened-to-amelia-earhart

 Wilkinson, James “Pioneering Aviator Amelia Earhart 'Died a Castaway after Crashing on a Pacific Island' - despite Making More than 100 Chilling Radio Distress Calls That Were Heard around the World .”Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 15 Sept. 2016, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3782724/amelia-earhart-died-castaway-nikumaroro-island-eerie-evidence-suggests.html.