The day is July 2, 1937, and the world’s first woman to fly across the Pacific solo, Amelia Earhart, goes missing as she attempts to circumnavigate the globe at the equator. Earhart was preparing to land for refueling and for more supplies at the Howland Islands, where the Coast Guard along with the ship Itasca were deployed to aid her in landing. Earhart radioed the ship to inform them that she was low on fuel; but the Itasca could not pinpoint her location nor could she pinpoint theirs, despite the Itasca pumping miles of black smoke into the air. She radioed “one-half hour fuel and no landfall” and later tried to give information on her position.1 Soon after, contact was lost, and Earhart presumably tried to land the Lockheed on the water.2 After this, no news of Earhart emerged, and she was officially declared missing, along with her copilot, Fred Noonan. What happened to Amelia Earhart?
Theories suggest that Earhart crash landed near Nikumaroro, an island near her original destination, Howland Island. It is said that Itasca, the nearby ship sent out by the Coast Guard, was able to pick up her transmissions, which is why it is believed that she was near the Howland Islands. In 1940, the colonial administrator of Howland Islands, Gerald Gallagher, discovered thirteen bones in what seemed to be the remnants of a campfire. The bones were shipped to Fiji to be examined by Physician D.W. Hoodless, who examined the bones and determined that they belonged to a stocky, short man of European descent, which would seem to rule out Earhart and Noonan. After deciding this conclusion, Hoodless discarded the bones, completely eliminating the chance for further examination. However, the International Group for Historical Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) took Hoodless’s original measurements and found that the bones could have possibly belonged to a tall woman of European descent.3 Earhart was known to be around 5’7 to 5’8. To entertain the bone evidence, TIGHAR Director Ric Gillespie states that the lack of bones could be caused by the island’s coconut crab population. Coconut crabs are known to grow up to three feet long, and can break open coconuts with their claws. The crabs could have possibly carried the remains of bone and flesh to their burrows for feeding.
Along with these bones, a shoe sole was found with writing on it, stating, “Cats Paw Rubber Company USA.” The sole was from the same type of shoe that Earhart was pictured wearing in Indonesia shortly before her disappearance. However, the sole belonged to a size-nine shoe, which would have been too big for Earhart’s feet, disproving the possibility of it being hers. But along with the sole, a sextant, an instrument used to find latitude and longitude, was discovered with the bones and campfire.4 This instrument could have belonged to Earhart, as it was very common for pilots to navigate through longitude and latitude using a sextant. It made sense that Earhart and Noonan could have used the instrument to determine their location after landing. To further this theory, across the island are findings of campfires, along with remains of fish, clams, birds, and turtles. Based on the way the clams were opened and the way the fish were eaten without their heads, it is more plausibly the activity of non-pacific islanders.
A less likely theory suggests that Earhart and Noonan were given orders that if they could not find the Howland Islands, to crash land near the Marshall Islands, which at the time were controlled by Japanese forces. The purpose of this could be so that the US army could move towards the area, claiming that they were “searching for Earhart.” Another claim is that Earhart and Noonan were captured by the Japanese Army and eventually killed.5 Evidence exists that shows that at the time, locals claimed seeing the plane crash on the island. Also, in 1944, an Army Sergeant named Thomas E. Devine claimed that he came across a group of US Marines guarding a hanger containing Earhart’s Electra, on the formerly settled Japanese Island Saipan.
Furthermore, a photo found in the national archives suggests that the photo contains Earhart and Noonan after landing on the Marshall Islands. However, the photo was subsequently found in a Japanese textbook published in 1935.6 Furthermore, experts claim that at the time, Earhart would not have had enough fuel to make it to the Marshall Islands, considering that in her last radio transmission, she claimed to have only seventy-four gallons remaining.
In conclusion, despite theories ranging from survival on islands to alien interference, most enthusiasts speculate Earhart crashed into the ocean, burned up in the crash, and sank to the bottom of the ocean. However, the world will never know what happened to Amelia Earhart unless the aircraft or a body is discovered. For now, the case of Amelia Earhart remains a mystery.
- Women In World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia, 2002, s.v. “Amelia Earhart,” by Doris L. Rich. ↵
- Candace Flemming, Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart (New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2011), 30-36. ↵
- Kristina Killgrove, “The Mysterious Disappearance Of Amelia Earhart’s Skeleton,” Forbes Science Journal 02, no.1 (November 2016): 1-3. ↵
- TIGHAR Project Amelia, “The Sextant Box Mystery,” Earhart Project Research Bulletin 2, no.12 (January 1999): 1-2. ↵
- Johnny Dodd, “Does This Photo Prove Amelia Earhart Survived Her Flight,” Journal Of Human Interest 14, no. 4 (July 2017): 1-2. ↵
- Two Leaf Yakosubi Store, The life line of the sea My figure of the South Sea: South Sea archipelago photo book (Two Leaf Yakko Cloth Store, 1935), 34-35. ↵
83 comments
Johnanthony Hernandez
For as long as I can remember when I think of small planes, I think of Amelia Earhart. I wonder if we’ll every find out what happened to Earhart and her plane or if it will be one of those mysteries that we will never solve. Her determination inspired so many women to take charge of their destinies and be able to do how they please with their lives.
Timothy ODekirk
I absolutely love mystery stories and find them incredibly fascinating and disturbing at the same time. The story of Earhart is an interesting one for sure, how it is still a mystery what truly happened to her and her copilot. I also find it intriguing of the image presented throughout the article, of allegedly Earhart and her copilot being captured by Japanese forces. If that was truly them, which in my opinion, I do not believe, than that changes the whole outcome of this story. This was an interesting mystery story and a great article to read.
Carlos Vazquez
Amelia Earhart is one of this country’s most beloved icons. Her disappearance was one of the biggest tragedies of the early 20th century. Although we may never know for sure where her remains are, it has led to many theories about her disappearance some as crazy as alien intervention. This article was really well written and informative and I really enjoyed reading this.
Noah Laing
Reading this article certainly informed me of more theories than I was aware of regarding what happened to Amelia Earhart and her plane that seemed to just disappear during her attempt to fly around the world. The details about the theory that Earhart and her co-pilot landed on an island and made a campfire and ate fish is certainly intriguing, especially with the bone evidence and shoe company evidence. This is a good and informative article.
Hanadi Sonouper
Amelia Earhart was such an iconic figure to our history, and to women’s history as well for becoming the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic ocean, and the first person ever to fly solo from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland. I enjoyed how the author really developed the story, and following questions about her disappearance. During a flight to circumnavigate the glove, Earhart disappeared somewhere over the Pacific in July 1937. Although her story is highly speculated with proven facts whether she survived or not, her honor will live on as a revolutionist for the female community to accomplish anything they set their mind to, because what ever men can do, woman can do it just as well!
Yahaira Martinez
I have always known about Amelia Earhart and i have always heard her story and i find it so tragic that to this day we still don’t know what truly happened to her. Had she been successful she would’ve been praised and would have been a milestone for women all around. This article was very informative and creative, i loved reading everything about this amazing woman.
Natalia Carroll-Long
Oh mysteries, making me wonder what has happened since I used to watch Carmen San Diego. I’d like to believe the theory that involved them being able to get to a campfire and then just living out the rest of their life. This theory seems to have the most credibility and I’d like to think that they wouldn’t’ve died at sea. I wish there was more insight on this. Maybe I’ll go look for a documentary on Earhart because I really like things like this.
Peter Coons
Earhart is such an interesting missing person case given her grandeur. Yes, we were in the heat of war, but being the famous woman and political ally and personal friend to Eleanor Roosevelt, you’d think she would have been promptly been rescued. I suppose it’s ignorant to assume that, given how today it is far easier to locate a missing aircraft. In any case, the utter lack of evidence to her disappearance is a baffling mystery that more than likely will never be solved.
Anais Del Rio
I never realized that there was so many theories surrounding Amelia’s disappearance and up until now I only remember hearing about the photo that shows she could have possibly been alive. People are still wondering about this case because she was the first woman to fly solo and now she’s gone almost without a trace. Most likely it seems we’ll never be able to have a definite answer as to where she went.
Christopher King
Personally I believe in the theory that her plane crashed in the ocean and the currents just carried them both away. I had not realized though that there is possible evidence that they could have made it to an island nearby and possibly survived for some time. There are so many possibilities as to what happened that I believe we will never know. I enjoyed this article. It went through different theories and allowed the ready to choose what they thought would have happened to either one of them and if they made it out alive.