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Amelia Earhart, born in 1897, became passionate about flying after a ride in an open cockpit biplane. She set multiple records, including being the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. In 1937, she attempted to fly around the world but disappeared over the Pacific Ocean, and the mystery of her disappearance remains unsolved.
Amelia Mary Earhart’s appearance in the aviation world is as intriguing as her mysterious disappearance over the Pacific Ocean during her quest to be the first woman to fly around the world. Born July 24, 1897 in Atchison, Kansas, Earhart began her passion for flying 20 years after her at an air meet at Daugherty Field in Long Beach. She was invited aboard an open cockpit biplane with pilot Frank Hawks. Flying over Los Angeles at more than 200 feet (61 m), she realized that flying was indeed her calling in her life.
Earhart’s first flying lesson took place in January 1921 at Kinner Field near Long Beach. In July he had purchased a used Kinner Airster, a two-seat biplane he cheerfully named The Canary after its bright yellow paint. She set her first female record in October 1922 by flying at an altitude of 14,000 feet (4,267 m). Less than a year later, Earhart received her pilot’s license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI).
A financial setback in 1924 forced Earhart to sell The Canary and become a social worker in Boston, Massachusetts. It was three years later, in April 1928, when he received a call that began his rise to fame. Captain HH Railey had been commissioned by publicist George Putnam to find a woman capable of flying across the Atlantic. Earhart accepted the challenge without hesitation. However, due to her limitations in instrument and multi-engine flying, she was only a passenger along with two other pilots, Wilmur Stultz and Louis Gordon.
In June 1928, their three-engine Fokker aircraft, Friendship, took off for Ireland. Due to bad weather and low fuel, they landed at Burry Port in South Wales instead. However, the success of this flight turned Earhart into instant stardom.
Earhart went on to earn many coveted flight awards. In August 1929 he won third place in the First Women’s Air Derby, an air race from Los Angeles to Cleveland. She was also the founder and president of The Ninety-Nines, an organization made up of 99 female pilots.
In February 1931, Earhart married her publicist, George Putnam. Together, they prepared for her solo flight across the Atlantic the following year. On May 20, 1932, the fifth anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s Atlantic flight, Earhart broke records by being the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, having the shortest crossing time and flying the longest nonstop distance for a female pilot. She was awarded the National Geographic Society’s Gold Medal by President Herbert Hoover and was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Earhart continued to amaze the world with her flying achievements. She began plans to become the first woman to fly around the world. On June 1, 1937, Earhart boarded her Lockheed Electra 10E with her navigator, Frederick Noonan, beginning their 29,000-mile (46,671 km) journey around the world. By the end of June they had arrived in Lae, New Guinea with only 7,000km to go. Success seemed imminent.
Their next stop was Howland Island, located 2,556 miles (4,113 km) from Lae. This destination was a flight challenge, as it was only 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long and 0.5 miles (0.8 km) wide. All precautions have been taken to facilitate their safe landing. Three US ships turned on all lights on board and positioned themselves in the flight path to help Earhart see where he was landing. The US Coast Guard patrol boat, Itasca, was also anchored nearby.
At 12:30 on July 2, 1937, Earhart and Noonan left Lae. They flew through unexpected overcast skies and erratic rains. These weather conditions made navigation difficult. Their radio transmissions were unclear and filled with static.
At 7:42, Itasca received one of Earhart’s transmissions, in which she said she could fly over Howland Island even though she couldn’t see it. They were already flying on low fuel at 1,000 feet (305m). An hour later, Itasca received a second transmission that they were flying north and south. Earhart never heard from again.
The US government invested four million US dollars (USD), using both air and naval resources, to search over 250,000 square miles (647,497 sq km) of ocean for any indication of what happened to the plane. The search was canceled on July 19, 1937. To this day, the mystery of Earhart’s last flight remains unsolved.
