Amelia Earhart May Have Survived Crash-Landing, Newly Discovered Photo Suggests

A newly discovered photograph suggests legendary aviator Amelia Earhart, who vanished 80 years ago on a round-the-world flight, survived a crash-landing in the Marshall Islands.

The photo, found in a long-forgotten file in the National Archives, shows a woman who resembles Earhart and a man who appears to be her navigator, Fred Noonan, on a dock. The discovery is featured in a new History channel special, "Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence," that airs Sunday.

Independent analysts told History the photo appears legitimate and undoctored. Shawn Henry, former executive assistant director for the FBI and an NBC News analyst, has studied the photo and feels confident it shows the famed pilot and her navigator. [Amelia Earhart mystery may have new clue in never-before-seen photo] Amelia Earhart mystery may have new clue in never-before-seen photo 6:25

"When you pull out, and when you see the analysis that's been done, I think it leaves no doubt to the viewers that that's Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan," Henry told NBC News.

Earhart was last heard from on July 2, 1937, as she attempted to become the first woman pilot to circumnavigate the globe. She was declared dead two years later after the U.S. concluded she had crashed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, and her remains were never found. Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart sits in her Electra plane cabin at the airport in Burbank, California, on May 20, 1937. Albert Bresnik / Paragon Agency via AP

But investigators believe they have found evidence Earhart and Noonan were blown off course but survived the ordeal. The investigative team behind the History special believes the photo may have been taken by someone who was spying for the U.S. on Japanese military activity in the Pacific.

Les Kinney, a retired government investigator who has spent 15 years looking for Earhart clues, said the photo "clearly indicates that Earhart was captured by the Japanese."

Japanese authorities told NBC News they have no record of Earhart being in their custody.

Related: The Search Is Still On for Amelia Earhart 80 Years After She Disappeared

The photo, marked "Jaluit Atoll" and believed to have been taken in 1937, shows a short-haired woman — potentially Earhart — on a dock with her back to the camera. (She's wearing pants, something for which Earhart was known.) She sits near a standing man who looks like Noonan — down to the hairline.

"The hairline is the most distinctive characteristic," said Ken Gibson, a facial recognition expert who studied the image. "It's a very sharp receding hairline. The nose is very prominent."

Gibson added: "It's my feeling that this is very convincing evidence that this is probably Noonan." A newly discovered photo shows a woman who resembles Amelia Earhart and a man who appears to be her navigator, Fred Noonan. National Archives

The photo shows a Japanese ship, Koshu, towing a barge with something that appears to be 38-feet-long — the same length as Earhart's plane.

For decades, locals have claimed they saw Earhart's plane crash before she and Noonan were taken away. Native schoolkids insisted they saw Earhart in captivity. The story was even documented in postage stamps issued in the 1980s.

"We believe that the Koshu took her to Saipan [in the Mariana Islands], and that she died there under the custody of the Japanese," said Gary Tarpinian, the executive producer of the History special.

It is not clear if the U.S. government knew who was in the photo. If it was taken by a spy, the U.S. may not have wanted to compromise that person by revealing the image.

Check out these links.
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Earhart's Electra Found?

This is very interesting in the "read " document on top of the ink.
Start at page 14, and see

WHAT HAPPENED TO AMELIA EARHART?

R. C. Sherman
August, 1986

Then go to page 17 and read thru to page 21.

Amelia's sighting of the bright lights on NAU was heard by Chief of Police on his short wave radio. His request for frequencies and time had been answered by Harry at LAE. We are thus certain of the LAE -NUK -NAU route. The time was not accurately recorded by the Chief. but recalled later as between 10:30 and 11:30 Z. Of 11:00 Z is used, the G.S. would be 114K/131MPH, just a bit slower than they had planned, indicating an average headwind component of about 10-15K. Normal so far, over 1/2 way and exactly on (her revised) course, 1250 NM and 11 hours behind them, 989 NBM and 81/2 hours to go, with a new ETA for HOW of 1930 Z. She should have passed the Gilberts from about 1400 to 1430 Z, 2-2:30 a.m. local. The Itasca heard some faint signals several hours later. At 1816 Z they heard, "100 miles out", and by 1912 Z her, "…on top of you, but can't see you", was 5 x 5, as was 1915 Z, "…circling. It would appear that she was between her ETEA and ETA-15 min. 2239 NM (revised route) in 19:15 is a G.S. of 116K/134MPH. An indication that the headwind component was light but there was probably a crosswind component because they missed HOW. An observation on the Itasca at this time noted that it was clear to the South toward Baker and the Itasca had a trail of smoke that could be seen from quite a distance/ To the North, however, were fairly solid black clouds, probably rain. Amelia had reported cloudy weather and rain. At 1928 Z she said, "give signal on 7500 Kc for bearing." (There 7500 Kc is again). The Itasca responded to every call, but never got an acknowledgement. Something must have been wrong with her 3105 receiver. Most unfortunately she never tried another frequency until her 19282 request for 7500 Kc. At 1933Z the Itasca heard, "received your signal but couldn't get a minimum." So! She must have heard 7500 and may had had D. F. capability on that frequency. Meanwhile, Black and Lt. Cooper had set up their H.F. D. F. on the island. For power they had rigged up the Itasca's gun control batteries. During her calls on 3105 - a half dozen or more in the last 12 hours, none were long enough for them to get a bearing. There is a suspicion that the batteries had run down from earlier tests and the last several hours of use. Even had they obtained several bearings, how could they have advised her since she heard only one call of the hundreds made to her? At 2014 Z her signal was a bit weaker, she said, "flying North and South on sunline 157° - 337 °." It was her last message. Tarawa was 622 NM from Howland; about 41/2 hours, although other islands in the group should be seen earlier. They probably had about 5 hours of fuel, at the most left. She likely set course for TAR, using HOW as the starting point. Since she was probably 90 to 130 NM North, Northwest, of HOW, advancing the heading to that area, and applying the crosswind that got her that far North in the first place would put her within sight of Mill Atoll - about 630 NM from the position we assumed, N.N.W. of HOW, as the gas needle hit zero. 17 Several natives saw the plane belly land in shallow water above the reef just off the shore of Barre Island, on the North side of Mill Atoll. They were astounded to see a "package" change into a boat, and two "men" climb in and paddle to shore. The tallest man, Fred, was hurt and the shorter, thinner "man", Amelia, helped him. Some Japanese soldiers had also seen the plane. When it landed, they commandeered a fishing boat and paddled across the lagoon in the cal Atoll; an intermittent ring of coral based islands, with a lagoon in the middle. It is located on the Southern edge of the Marshall Island Group. The hidden natives watched the strangers and the Japanese who came from behind across the lagoon. Soon the confrontation occurred, with much arm waving and sign language. Our flyers were eventually transported to the village on Mili Island, the largest of the tiny Atoll ring. On July 9th, three of the four ships in the 12th Squadron, ostensibly searching for the downed plane, (reported to the U.S. as an all out effort) were ordered back to their home base, Ise Bay Japan. No need to really search since they had been found. The fourth ship, the 2000 ton research ship, Koshu, was ordered to Jaliut, headquarters for the Marshalls. The Koshu was the only one of the four ships with a plane hoist on the fantail. It had a canvas sling which was put under seaplanes to hoist them aboard, before hoist rings were built into the planes. Incredibly, the Japanese in 1949 during the occupation, succeeded in convincing an Army G-2 investigation into the Earhart disappearance, that rumors not withstanding, their Navy had made a sustained, heroic effort to locate the downed plane, it was never found. thus the flyers could not have been held on Saipan or anywhere else. Pacific islanders had long ago learned that it wasn't smart to talk to any outsiders, Japanese, Americans or whomever; they were mum for years. On July 17th, the Koshu took on coal in Jaluit. It then steamed to Barre Island where they winched up the damaged Electra and picked up the prisioners. The plane was seen on the fantail by a medical corpsman and his native helper when the Koshu put into Jaluit on the 19th to get help for Fred Noonan from the local medical detachment. The Koshu then steamed to Kwajalein, then on to the large naval base at Truk. Amelia and Fred were transported to a sea plane and flown to Garipan on Saipan in the Mariana's. All of the foregoing from witnesses, crew members, and the Koshu's log. Because of the Japanese paranoias about getting caught red handed with their string of island fortifications and naval bases, theymwere suspicious about Amelia's round the world trip. Fearing that her disappearance was an excuse for a massive "search" by the U.S., the Japanese High Command was literally on pins and needles. When she was found in the Marshalls, over 800 N.M. from Howland, and with a camera (albeit an ordinary 35 mm type), the questioning was exten- sive. By the time the High Command began to believe the truth, there was no way to take back their lies to the world, nor erase the incriminating sights the two had seen. They could never be released. Fred grew increasingly irritable with his captors and his meager ration of watery soup and rice. In a fit of rage, he threw a bowl of food at his jailer. He was summarily taken out and executed. Amelia languished in her cell for another year (no more exact time could be determined) finally succumbing to dysentery. 18 Goerner was convinced that Amelia and Fred had died in captivity in Garipan Prison on Saipan, because of several witnesses, including one who was in an adjacent cell. He was unable to prove how they came to be on Saipan, so he spent a good deal of time trying to find their graves to have bones iden- tified as a Caucasian male and female of Amelia's and Fred's approximate height and age. He discovered that the cometry he poked around in was not the origi= nal site, and when he thought he found the one in use in 12938 and '59, other witnesses told him that it had been disturbed many times. He put much store in the rumor of an American team, during the investigation of Saipan, going directly to the old cemetery, exhuming several graves, and taking the remains back to a warship. Klaas as convinced that Amelia was alive in the U.S., thus he discounted witnesses referred to above, andspent no time looking foe ceme- teries. Loomis, having put together a credible scenario that fit both previous facts and the missing links that he found (e.g., the Koshu's log and several of its crew members), did not believe that remainswere necessary to prove his the- sis. Despite their shortcomings, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan had the courage and self-confidence of all pioneers. He'd they been able to get a 'celestial fix before dawn, or a radio bearing later (either with their equipment or by the Itasca) to intersect their sun line, history would have been different. * * * * * * * * * * 19

There's a chart on page 21 that worth seeing, but I can't reconstruct it.

Also, I found this interesting chart.

Here is a great article with graphics on the possible Ditiching event and body movements inside the cockpit of an Electra landing in the water.

Here is aircraft data onSpecifications for Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E.

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