Published in the fall 2010 issue of MyLIFE magazine
Photo by Eric Long, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
The late 1800s and early 1900s marked a period of great technological advancement. The telephone became a practical mode of communication, the incandescent lightbulb began to illuminate homes, and the airplane became a commercial endeavor for some and a personal hobby for others. Famed female pilot Amelia Earhart entered the world in this era and spent much of her short life passionately pushing the technological envelope.
At a time when many women were exploring new social freedoms as “flappers,” Earhart became enthralled with the fast-growing technology of flying. In 1920, at the age of 23, she flew her first airplane, and by 1928, she was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Four years later, she accomplished the unthinkable task (at least for a female) of flying solo over the same sea.
By 1935, this self-proclaimed tomboy had garnered herself a position at Purdue University counseling young women on the career opportunities the modern age offered to them, including the occupation of pilot. Unfortunately, these trailblazing achievements often are overshadowed by the tragic and mysterious nature of her disappearance in 1937, a disappearance that modern technologies could possibly solve.
On June 1, 1937, Earhart took off from Miami in a newly rebuilt Electra airplane to embark on her latest aviation challenge, a flight around the world. Neither Earhart nor her navigator, Fred Noonan, would ever be seen again. The limited amount of cold, hard facts regarding her disappearance lend themselves to the air of uncertainty surrounding not only this voyage, but also the pilot herself.
All that is really known about that fateful day comes from radio communications between Earhart and the U.S. Coast Guard. After flying 22,000 miles of her 29,000-mile journey, Earhart took off for a short jaunt between Lae, New Guinea, and Howland Island, which lies about halfway between Australia and Hawaii. This approximately 3,000-mile trip would have easily exhausted the Electra’s fuel, and a landing on the island, which was less than 2 miles long, would not have been easily maneuvered. Her last radio communications on July 2, 1937, indicate that she was having trouble spotting the island and may have been running out of fuel.
However, beyond this information, the fate of the female icon of aviation and her partner remain shrouded in mystery, allowing the human imagination to run wild with stories of what happened to Earhart. Over 70 years later, theories still abound and run the gamut from the simple: that Earhart simply miscalculated her position and crashed in the ocean near Howland Island, to the far-fetched: that the Japanese government caught wind that Earhart was gathering intelligence for the U.S. government and shot her down. Recently, two additional theories, guided by modern technology, have come to the forefront. Further testing of these theories may, in fact, solve the case of the disappearance of Amelia Earhart once and for all.
The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), which has been working on the case since 1989, continues to develop a theory that Earhart safely landed on the island of Nikumaroro in the South Pacific and died as a castaway. This theory came to light in 1940 after a partial skeleton matching the characteristics of Earhart’s body were found on the island. Although these remains have been lost, TIGHAR has set out to find the rest of the skeleton and use DNA testing to prove it is that of Earhart.
This photo shows Earhart standing in front of the Lockheed Electra in which she disappeared in July 1937.
At this point in time, the recovery team has not found the rest of the remains, which they believe were carried off by coconut crabs that inhabit the island. So, they have turned to the new technology of “touch DNA” testing—hoping it will definitively prove that Earhart landed there on that fateful day. This technology allows scientists to test artifacts for remnants of human DNA. The samples collected are compared with DNA reference samples to positively identify those who have come into contact with the objects. In previous expeditions to the island, the TIGHAR team discovered pieces of both a makeup jar and a pocket knife that will be examined for skin cells, which, if found, will be compared with samples of Earhart’s DNA. While working on this theory, the team also intends to employ an underwater robot, or a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), to search deep in the Pacific Ocean for remnants of the Electra, which may have been washed away from the shore.
The ROV is also being used for the same purposes by another excavation team connected to SeaBotix, Inc., an engineering company that specializes in marine science. However, an interesting twist has made this expedition turn away from focusing on the island of Nikumaroro and toward exploring the possibility that Earhart crashed in the waters near the island. The group intends on testing this theory because of information learned from Joseph McMoneagle, a military intelligence remote viewer, or psychic. McMoneagle, highly decorated by the U.S. Army for his help with numerous intelligence missions, created a map 12 years ago that the team will use to guide them to the area where he believes the wreckage is located. This expedition will be the first of its kind in the seas southwest of Nikumaroro, as no one other than the remote viewer has pinpointed this exact area as a possible crash site.
It is hoped that these expeditions will unveil the truth that many have been looking for the last 73 years. Answers will not only quell the rumors of what happened to Earhart, but they will also allow for her legacy as a passionate aviator, an advocate for women and a lover of technology to replace her untimely death as the topic of conversation.
