Member-only story
What Really Happened To Amelia Earhart?
The story behind the mysterious disappearance of the most famous aviator in the world
On the 2nd of July 1937, while attempting to become the first female to circumnavigate the globe, Amelia Earhart disappeared along with her navigator Fred Noonan. To this day, there has been no concrete evidence as to what happened although a few plausible theories have been put forward.
Amelia Earhart was an accomplished pilot and had many achievements under her belt; on 17th June 1928, she became the first woman to cross the Atlantic, albeit as a passenger along with two other pilots. On 20th–21st May 1932, she made the trip alone, making her the second person ever to complete this flight. She took off from Harbour Grace in Newfoundland with the intention of reaching Paris, however, after experiencing a fuel leak, ice on the wings, and a cracked manifold which caused the engine to spew flames at one point, Earhart landed in a pasture in Culmore, Northern Ireland. When asked by a farmhand, ‘Have you flown far?’ she replied, ‘From America.’
On 24th August 1932, Earhart flew from Los Angeles to Newark, setting a record for the longest distance flown without refuelling.
With these accomplishments ticked off her list, Earhart decided to set her sights even…