Posted on 07/14/2007 9:40:23 AM PDT by blam
Is this Earhart's final landing site?
By Tom Leonard
Last Updated: 2:05am BST 14/07/2007
Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1937
It is one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century. But today an expedition is heading for a remote South Pacific island that they believe holds the key to finally solving the 70-year-old puzzle of the missing aviator Amelia Earhart.
Fifteen members of the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (Tighar) will hunt for evidence that the American pilot and her navigator, Fred Noonan, may have crash-landed on a reef and died as castaways on the long-uninhabited atoll of Nikumaroro.
Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic and her disappearance as she neared the end of a month-long, round-the-world flight in 1937 has provided aviation with one of its most enduring riddles. Earhart, 39, and Noonan, 44, had left Lae, New Guinea, on July 2 bound for the tiny Howland Island 2,550 miles to the east, only to vanish as they neared their destination. A 16-day search by US Navy and Coast Guard ships turned up no sign of the fliers or their silver, twin-engine Lockheed Electra.
But the official finding, that they ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea, sinking along with their plane, has never satisfied amateur sleuths.
Some of the more bizarre theories include one that she was captured by the Japanese and forced to make propaganda broadcasts during the Second World War as one of the many women known as Tokyo Rose.
In another theory, she survived the flight, moved secretly to New Jersey, changed her name and remarried, later becoming a successful New York banker. George Putnam, Earhart's stepson and only surviving family member, said he wished Tighar "the best of luck" even though he didn't believe their theory. Mr Putnam, 86, said: "We've got our fingers crossed, wishing them all the best. A lot of people, including me, would like to know what happened."
Amelia Earhart and her twin-engine Lockheed Electra may have crashed on or near Nikumaroro atoll in 1937
Mr Putnam, who remembers flying with Earhart as a child, said: "My own guess is that they were very close to land - maybe only 100 miles - but they ran out of gas. The plane sank and she did too."
The Tighar expedition flew from Los Angeles to Fiji on Thursday. There, they boarded a boat for a five-day, 1,000-mile journey to the 2½-mile-long atoll, once called Gardner Island, which lies near the intersection of the equator and the international dateline. Once there, the group will spend 17 days searching for bones, aircraft parts and any other evidence that Earhart and Noonan reached the island after crashing on a nearby reef at low tide.
Organisers say conditions on the island will be punishing, with the investigators forced to contend with dense jungle vegetation, 100F (38C) heat, sharks that reside in a lagoon in the middle of the island and voracious crabs that make it necessary to wear shoes at all times.
Its theory is widely regarded as far-fetched but Tighar, a Delaware-based charity, cites various pieces of documented, archaeological and anecdotal evidence. In 1940, a British colonial official reportedly claimed he had found Earhart's skeleton, along with a sextant box, under a tree on the island. The remains were found to be of a "tall white female of northern European ancestry".
"Most sceptics are not really familiar with the evidence that we've found, and they usually have a vested interest in the other theories," said Ric Gillespie, Tighar's founder. "All of this is circumstantial, but it's reason to believe the 'smoking gun' is still out there."
The Tighar expedition is just one of three Earhart hunts planned for this year. A Maryland company wants to scour around 600 sq miles of Pacific Ocean floor, while another group recently went to the North Pacific to follow up claims that Earhart crashed on the Japanese-controlled Marshall Islands and was taken prisoner.
That and Judge Crater’s disappearance, yes. Aimee Semple ‘I was kidnapped!’ MacPherson’s, not so much.
Groan....
The book "Finding Amelia" has, in its Epilogue, a telegram sent by Officer in Charge G.B. Gallagher (shown at above site), which left me with the impression that Amelia's remains had been found and nobody followed up on it. Read the five pages on that site for the full info.
Interesting stuff.
My dad—a pilot from that era with an excellent memory—said her navigator was an alcoholic.
My belief? Shes in the water just north of Howland Island.
Sounds like some people have to much money and time on their hands.
its' tradition.*Elvis voice* Thank You!.....very much. :)
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