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
Sebastian Castro Ramos
Before reading this article I knew very little about Amelia Earhart. In fact, I only knew she was the first female pilot, and that she was the inspiration for many women to do what they wanted to do. I didn’t know she went missing and her plane and cadaver were never found. Her disappearance and death were tragic events. Interesting article, very engaging and well developed.
Christine Sackey
Great article! I did not know that were so many theories about Amelia Earhart’s crash. I had only heard about the last theory that she burned and crashed into the ocean. All the theories really made you think about what if she really survived or if she was captured by the Japanese did she escape? I hope that one day we will be able to solve the mystery and figure out what really happened to Amelia and her copilot.
Tyler Bradford
I have always thought that Amelia Earhart’s case was so fascinating. I’ve always wondered what happened to her and tried to piece this whole puzzle together myself just out of curiosity. It’s sad to know that we still don’t know what could have possibly happened to her and that we may never know what happened to her. I really hope that we don’t give up on this puzzle and hopefully one day answer the questions we all have concerning her and her copilot’s disappearance. It just seems somewhat hard to believe that someone could just vanish into thin air with no trace.
Michael Mandujano
Throughout my middle school and high school tenure I was introduced to Amelia Earheart, and was aware that she was the first women to engage in flight. However, I was completely unaware of Earheart’s case of going missing. I found this article very interesting. I really enjoyed the images that were displayed throughout the article, and I enjoyed how this article developed their research for this article. I am now curious on where Amelia Earheart’s remains are located.
Cherice Leach
I love mysteries and this sure is one to talk about. What an amazing article. You do a great job of keeping the reader intrigued throughout the story. This theories are all pretty crazy. I think the one that makes the most sense is the one where they crashed near Nikumaroro. I mean evidence of pilot equipment, human bones found to match a woman of height. That all makes pretty good sense to me. However, you never know what the government could be hiding so maybe the second theory could be a possibility as well.
Maria Callejas
This is an amazing article! Total learning experience for me. Although I have been aware of the mysterious disappearance of Earhart, I wasn’t aware of the various speculations about her disappearance. You do a great job presenting all the known theories concisely, something that would usually take a lot of time and space. I really enjoyed how you concluded your article, as you show the most popular theory among speculators, being that she crashed into the ocean because of lack of fuel. Even after her death, her legacy lives on, being a prominent face for women in aviation around the world.
Tara Sellers
This was a very well written article. I never knew the different theories on what had happened to Amelia Earhart. I knew she crash landed in the pacific somewhere. I also did not realize this had happened around the time of world war two. I wish there was more information on what had happened to her. She is a very important female figure today.
Alondra Aviles
I had not known much about Amelia Earhart except for her incredible flying abilities and having made a huge impact on feminist movements. Apart from that there wasn’t much to be known about her and I now realize after reading this article that it was probably due to her disappearance. You don’t find many mysteries this interesting with so many theories behind them, especially with someone as iconic as Earhart. The article was very informative and interesting, I was continuously hoping the mystery of her disappearance would be revealed so I was on edge the entire time.
Evelin Joseph
I have heard numerous things about Amelia Earhart and her accomplishments, but I have never before learned about her disappearance, so this article was a very welcome read. I never knew there were so many theories surrounding her vanishing and death, and furthermore, they all seem very plausible. It gave me chills to hear about the discovery of the bones and the picture of “Amelia Earhart” in Japan, as it is scary to think that Earhart and Noonan could have been stranded or captured somewhere and lived every day terrified and alone. This evidence only further proves that we will never truly know what happened to her and her co-pilot.
Alexis Renteria
I think all these theories could possibly be true with what ever little evidence found apart from reasons that could prove the theories wrong. However, in my opinion, theory of the aircraft crashing in the ocean and Amelia sinking to the bottom sounds more likely to have happen. Overall, this was as very interesting article and I think it was a great idea listing theories on the disappearance of Amelia Earhart.