Earhart Attempts to Fly Around the World
Amelia Earhart and her Lockheed Electra
July 2, 1937, famed female aviator Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Frederick Noonan were reported missing while attempting to circumnavigate the globe in their Lockheed Electra 10-E aircraft just 22 days before her 40th birthday. Earhart was born July 24, 1897 in Atchison Kansas. She learned to fly at the age of 24 and later became famous as being the first female aviator to cross the continental United States and the Atlantic solo among many other aviation milestones.
The pair had already successfully flown 22,000 miles when they left Lea, New Guinea on the most dangerous leg of their global journey. The last 7000 miles would be flown almost entirely over the Pacific Ocean. Several U.S. ships were deployed to assist Earhart and Noonan in navigation on this crucial leg of their famous flight. The next scheduled stop was the tiny U.S. owned Howland Island. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Itasca made sporadic contact with the duo who were obviously lost. Earhart radioed “one-half hour of fuel and no landfall..” After several frustrating hours of trying to maintain radio communication and navigational assistance by both Earhart and the Itasca, radio contact was lost and it is presumed that Earhart made an attempt at a water landing in the ocean. An intensive search of the surrounding area by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard found no trace of the Lockheed Electra or its crew. Many attempts throughout the years have been made to locate the final resting place of Earhart. It is presumed the most famous female aviator of all time perished at sea.
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Captain Chris