Amelia Earhart's disappearance has remained a mystery for nearly a century, but the answer may not be as complicated as the world thinks.
Amelia Earhart's Disappearance
On June 1, 1937, Earhart, the first female aviator to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean, took off for her journey to complete a circumnavigational flight of the globe onboard a Lockheed Model 10-E Electra airplane with her navigator Fred Noonan. She reported what she saw to the U.S. media. However, just a day later, the duo suddenly vanished near Howland Island in the central Pacific Ocean before she reached her destination.
A chaotic search-and-rescue mission began. TIME detailed that effort while still ongoing, explaining why the circumstances led to a high level of mystery. First, when competent Navigator Noonan examined what he assumed to be an ultra-modern "flying laboratory" before the hop-off, he was shocked to find that the only instrument available for taking celestial bearings was a standard ship sextant.
He fixed that by taking out a contemporary bubble octant for aircraft navigation. He then obtained two dozen aluminum powder bombs to estimate wind drift across the sea. These bombs were abandoned at a storage facility for an unknown purpose.
If Earhart's plane had been able to adjust its signals to a 500-kilacycle frequency, the Coast Guard cutter Itasca, which had been sent from San Diego to Howland Island only to assist the fliers, would have been able to acquire directional bearings on the aircraft.
If the plane's transmitter had a trailing antenna, it may have transmitted these messages. However, Earhart didn't bring one because she thought it would be too much trouble.
Ultimately, the commander would have known where to look if the Itasca had periodically radioed its position. However, no position report was received when the plane departed New Guinea. It is only known that the fliers radioed seven position reports during their journey.
However, Susan Butler, author of East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart, believes there was a simple reason why the pair went missing. She believes that the plane "simply ran out of gas." She added that she was confident the plane's remains would be found.
Remains of Amelia Earhart's Plane Wreckage Possibly Found
In January, Deep Sea Vision, an ocean exploration company based in South Carolina, claimed it might have found Earhart's plane wreckage. According to Deep Sea Vision, a 16-person crew and an advanced radar-equipped underwater drone discovered something resembling Earhart's Lockheed Electra. This was found 16,000 feet below the surface, approximately 100 miles off Howland Island. The pair was intended to refuel at Howland Island.
A few grainy photos were taken approximately 5,000 meters below the surface of the Pacific. This was accomplished using an autonomous underwater submersible's side scan sonar. The photos were taken around 161 kilometers from the island of Howland.
However, whether the discovery is Earhart's plane remains to be seen.
Dorothy Cochrane, a curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, said the discovery's location does make sense. However, experts concur that this cannot be verified until a firsthand examination of the discovery is conducted. Given the position of the wreckage, this will probably be a challenging task.
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