Earhart and Noonan’s Final Flight

All of these triumphs impressed Edward Elliott, the president of Purdue Univer­sity in Indiana. He set up a fund to carry out aeronautical research and bought Earhart a new plane. It was a Lockheed Electra, equipped with many instru­ments. Earhart was determined to use the plane for a last flight around the world. Pilots Wiley Post and Howard

Hughes had done such a flight, but they had taken a northerly route that did not travel around Earth at its widest point. Earhart set out to do just that. “When I finish this job,” she said, “I mean to give up long-distance ‘stunt’ flying.”

Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan took off from Miami, Florida, on June 1, 1937, heading southeast. They flew to Brazil and then headed northeast to Senegal in Africa. They crossed the African continent, skirted the southern coast of Arabia, and flew over India before turning southeast to reach Indonesia. They arrived at Lae, New Guinea, on June 28, having made sever­al stops and flown nearly 20,000 miles (32,180 kilometers).

The next leg, from Lae to Howland Island in the central Pacific Ocean, was the longest single section of the trip, more than 2,200 miles (3,540 kilo­meters). Some technical difficulties arose before takeoff, but Noonan and Earhart departed on July 1. As they neared Howland Island early on July 2, Earhart asked by radio for a weather update; there was a storm near the island. A few more messages were received, including one that mentioned low fuel levels. The last radio transmission came at 8:45 a. m. The plane never arrived at Howland’s airfield. Earhart and Noonan were never heard from again.

The U. S. Navy quickly began to search the waters near Howland Island for some sign of the plane and the two fliers, but searchers found absolutely nothing. The commonly accepted view is

INITIAL FAILURE

Earhart first tried the round-the – world trip on March 17, 1937. She, Noonan, and two other fliers took off from Oakland, California, for Hawaii that day. The first leg of the trip went fine, but mechanical problems devel­oped in Hawaii. While the plane was being fixed, the other two fliers dropped out. Since Noonan was more familiar with a transatlantic route, the decision was made to change directions. That led to the final takeoff from Miami.

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that the plane ran out of gas and went down in the ocean, killing Earhart and Noonan. Some people have said that Earhart was spying on Japanese facili­ties in the Pacific on behalf of the U. S. government. These people suggest that she and Noonan were captured by the Japanese after landing. No strong evidence has ever been found for this.

Whatever her fate, Amelia Earhart was an inspirational figure. Although she first gained fame as only a passen­ger, she proved to be an able and daring pilot. Her skill, bravery, and winning personality made her one of early avia­tion’s most beloved figures.

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SEE ALSO:

• Lindbergh, Charles • Pilot ______________ /