The Mysterious Disappearance of Amelia Earhart

The Mysterious Disappearance of Amelia Earhart

 Amelia Earhart was the first woman to travel through the Atlantic Ocean (as a passenger) in 1928, the first female pilot to do this journey alone nonstop in 1932 and a pioneer woman in many respects. She cropped her hair short, wore trousers and insisted on her independence.  This persistent woman decided to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe along the Equator in 1937 which was unprecedented by a woman.

Amelia and her navigator, Noonan started their flight from Oakland and went on without problems until they reached New Guinea. The last and most dangerous part of their journey would have been between New Guinea and America over the Pacific Ocean. They planned to stop at Howland Island in the middle of the ocean but because of the poor visibility they couldn't find the island. The weather was windy and they asked for help from a nearby ship to navigate them but for some reason the communication wasn't successful. Amelia in her last radio message said that they were running out of gas and they couldn't hear the ship’s answer.

From this point on no one knows what happened. Different radio stations could hear weak signals supposedly coming from Amelia but these were unintelligible. Air and sea search started soon but they were unsuccessful. Since then no reliable evidence has been found concerning the missing pilot and her navigator.

Due to this uncertainty numerous theories emerged in connection with their disappearance. The first and simplest idea is called ‘crash-and-sink-theory’, according to which they ran out of fuel, crashed into the ocean and died. Although this supposition is said to be the most widely accepted, many researchers believe that Amelia and Noonan managed to reach the mainland. But if they did so, on which island did they land?

Researchers led many expeditions to the nearby islands but either they didn't find anything or they did find something (e.g. a white female skeleton) but before closer examination it mysteriously disappeared.

According to another theory, Amelia and Noonan landed on an island having been occupied by Japan. This story has different endings as well. First variation: they were soon executed because they were thought to be American spies. Second variation: they were kept in prison because it was forbidden for foreigners to go to that island and either they died in captivity of diseases or they were executed.

The most extreme approach says that Amelia had been a spy for Franklin Delano Roosevelt and she landed on the island under Japanese occupation because the president asked her to collect information. According to this theory Roosevelt helped to woman to go back to New Jersey where she started a new life under new identity. This idea seems to be unlikely because of two reasons. Firstly, she was a good friend of the First Lady and the president wouldn't have involved her in spy activity. Secondly, the lady accused of being Amelia Earhart was definitely not the famous aviator. So this conspiracy theory was proven wrong.

The unsolved mystery of one of the world’s most famous women is still very attractive. Expeditions are organized even nowadays which are supported by Amelia’s surviving stepson. Amelia Earhart’s inspirational character and life story has been depicted in many books and films and motivated many women in the 1920s – 1930s. All in all, I think in spite of her unsuccessful last flight she became a leading role model not just for women but for aviators as well.