Latest news with #Earhart
Daily Record
6 days ago
- Science
- Daily Record
Amelia Earhart theory that 'changes everything' as pilot claims missing aircraft is found
Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan were never seen again after setting out from Lae, New Guinea, in July 1937, with a British pilot now claiming to have found the wreckage In July 1937, the renowned female aviator Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, embarked on a journey from Lae, New Guinea, and were never seen again. Despite the most costly sea and air search in American history at that time, no trace of the pioneering female pilot or her aircraft has ever been discovered. Now, nearly nine decades later, a British pilot believes he has located the wreckage of the female flight pioneer's lost plane. Captain Justin Myers, a pilot with almost a quarter-century of experience, is '99 per cent certain' that he has pinpointed the exact spot where Earhart crash-landed. By examining magnified images from Google Earth, Myers identified a collection of shapes he thinks are remnants of the downed aircraft, reports the Express. Moreover, he asserts that these underwater objects correspond precisely to the dimensions of Earhart's Lockheed Electra 10E. According to Myers, Earhart and Noonan crashed on the east coast of Nikumaroro Island, a secluded coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The pilot is now urging for an expedition to the site to validate his theories. Captain Myers is not the first to propose that Earhart and Noonan may have crashed near Nikumaroro Island. Earhart was expected to land at Howland Island to refuel, approximately 400 miles (640km) north of the atoll. However, a combination of low fuel and adverse weather conditions may have led the aircraft off its intended path, resulting in an attempted emergency landing on the minuscule Nikumaroro Island. Previous explorations have unearthed artefacts such as makeshift tools, fragments of clothing, and a piece of plexiglas that corresponds to an Electra window. This has led many of those searching for Earhart's wreckage to theorise that the pilot may have managed to land near the island and reached the shore before ultimately succumbing to the harsh elements. What sets Captain Myers' discovery apart is his claim of having found photographic evidence of the crashed plane via Google Earth. In a blog post, Captain Myers reveals his interest in Nikumaroro Island was sparked after viewing a documentary about Earhart's final flight. He penned: 'Poor sleep, upper wind predictions not being accurate, probably fatigue and some anxiety would likely have played a part in the disappearance. '. Myers went on to say: 'As a pilot, I thought to myself, if I was in Amelia's position trying to find a needle in a hay stack low on fuel and to be honest if we were in her position no doubt using some choice language, where would I force land my Lockheed Electra 10E?' Choosing a long, sandy stretch on the island's East coast, Captain Myers zoomed in to discover a 'dark coloured perfectly straight object. '. Intriguingly, the Google Earth measuring tool revealed the object to be 39 feet (12 meters) in length, identical to the Lockheed Electra 10E. Captain Myers penned: 'A day or so later I had another look, just like that Bang! '110ft to the west of the metal section was what appeared to be a perfect half exposed radial engine measuring 4-4.5ft in diameter. 'Just under the engine is a wheel, again half exposed, the wheel is perfect and is in absolute proportion in size; I was struggling to see this was anything other than the debris of a lost vintage aircraft that has been hidden away for years. '. The Mysterious 'Taraia Object' While Captain Myers admits he can't be entirely certain this is Earhart and Noonan's Electra, he is convinced it is a vintage plane of the same size. He revealed to Popular Science: 'The bottom line is, from my interests from a child in vintage aircraft and air crash investigation, I can say that is what was once a 12-metre, 2-engine vintage aircraft. What I can't say is that is definitely Amelia's Electra. 'If this is not Amelia's Electra 10 E, then it's the answer to another mystery that has never been answered. '. Myers added: 'This finding could answer some questions to someone who disappeared many years ago. '. The pilot now expresses his desire for an expedition to be launched to investigate the objects and confirm once and for all whether they are Earhart's plane. However, he has had little success in gaining support for his proposal. Myers revealed that he forwarded the information to the National Transportation Safety Board in the U.S., the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, and the air crash investigation team in Brisbane. He also attempted to engage Purdue University with the information to see if any historians would be intrigued enough to initiate an investigation. Despite his outreach over three years ago, Myers is still awaiting a response. The lack of response from Purdue University is likely due to the fact that the university already has its own plans to search for Earhart's wreckage. Just last month, researchers announced the launch of an expedition to investigate the so-called 'Taraia Object', a visual anomaly inside the Nikumaroro lagoon widely believed to be the downed Electra. The university's expedition is scheduled to set sail from Majuro in the Marshall Islands on 5 November and will spend five days on Nikumaroro inspecting the Taraia Object. If the initial expedition proves successful in confirming the identity of the aircraft, the researchers plan to return for larger excavation efforts in 2026 to uncover and help return what remains of Earhart's plane. In a statement at the time, Richard Pettigrew, director of the Archaeological Legacy Institute, said: 'What we have here is maybe the greatest opportunity ever to finally close the case. 'With such a great amount of very strong evidence, we feel we have no choice but to move forward and hopefully return with proof. '.
Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- General
- Daily Mirror
Pilot says he's found the location of Amelia Earhart's aircraft using Google Earth
Captain Justin Myers, who has almost 25 years of experience as a pilot, is "99 per cent certain" he has found the exact location where Amelia Earhart and her navigator crashed A British pilot is convinced he has tracked down the wreckage of a missing plane - 88 years after it vanished. Captain Justin Myers says he is "99 per cent certain" he has found the exact location where legendary female aviator Amelia Earhart's plane crashed. She had set off with navigator Fred Noonan in July 1937 for from Lae, Papua New Guinea, never to be seen again. No trace has ever been found of the pilot or her plane despite the most expensive sea and air search in American history up to that point being implemented. However now, Captain Myers is sure he has made a breakthrough - and he wants an expedition to the location to confirm his theories. It mirrors a story we previously shared about a tech expert from the UK who had claimed he spotted the doomed MH370 plane on Google Maps. When Captain Myers recently used zoomed-in images sourced from Google Earth, he spotted a group of shapes he believes to be fragments of the crashed plane. The expert, has almost 25 years of experience as a pilot, who claims these submerged objects match the exact dimensions of Earhart's Lockheed Electra 10E. According to Captain Myers, Earhart and Noonan crashed on the east coast of Nikumaroro Island, a remote coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean. He is not the first to suggest Earhart and Noonan may have crashed near to Nikumaroro Island as previous investigations low fuel and bad weather may have pushed the aircraft in this direction. Earhart was supposed to have landed at Howland Island to refuel, some 400 miles (640km) to the north of the atoll. The difficult conditions led to an attempt at an emergency landing on Nikumaroro, it is thought. Improvised tools, bits of clothing, and a piece of plexiglas which matches that of an Electra window have been found during previous probes. Captain Myers considered these investigations when he stumbled on what he believes are images of fragments of the crashed plane. In a blog post, Captain Myers says he became interested in Nikumaroro Island after watching a documentary about Earhart's final flight. He wrote: "Poor sleep, upper wind predictions not being accurate, probably fatigue and some anxiety would likely have played a part in the disappearance. "As a pilot, I thought to myself, if I was in Amelia's position trying to find a needle in a hay stack low on fuel and to be honest if we were in her position no doubt using some choice language, where would I force land my Lockheed Electra 10E?" Although Captain Myers, who lives in Lancashire, says he can't be completely sure this is Earhart and Noonan's Electra, he is certain that it is a vintage plane of the same size. He told Popular Science: "The bottom line is, from my interests from a child in vintage aircraft and air crash investigation, I can say that is what was once a 12-metre, two-engine vintage aircraft. What I can't say is that is definitely Amelia's Electra. If this is not Amelia's Electra 10 E, then it's the answer to another mystery that has never been answered."
Axios
15-07-2025
- Science
- Axios
Purdue's plan to find Amelia Earhart's plane
A research team supported by Purdue University is spending its summer preparing for a fall expedition to bring Amelia Earhart's long-lost aircraft home. Why it matters: The disappearance of the iconic Boilermaker and her plane, the Electra, on July 2, 1937, remains one of the aviation world's most captivating mysteries. But this team says it may have cracked the code. Driving the news: On the 88th anniversary of Earhart's disappearance, Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) and the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) announced a joint effort to recover the Electra from Nikumaroro Island in the South Pacific. The operation will confirm whether a visual anomaly seen in satellite imagery in the island's lagoon is actually the remains of the aircraft. Nikumaroro is approximately halfway between Australia and Hawaii. What they're saying:"What we have here is maybe the greatest opportunity ever to finally close the case," Richard Pettigrew, ALI's executive director, said in a statement. "With such a great amount of very strong evidence, we feel we have no choice but to move forward and hopefully return with proof." Flashback: Purdue president Edward Elliott recruited Earhart to work at Purdue in 1935 after growing concerned that women enrolled at the university were not completing their studies. Earhart lived in the then-new women's residence hall, served as a counselor and advised Purdue's aeronautical engineering department. Earhart planned to give the Electra to Purdue for further scientific research after piloting it to set a record for the longest-distance flight, but she never returned. Zoom in: The team is working on "a vast amount of circumstantial evidence" collected over the past 40 years that supports the idea that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, did not crash at sea as originally believed. Instead, they think the pair landed and ultimately perished on the uninhabited island. Among the evidence is a 2017 analysis of human bones discovered on the island in 1940 that determined Earhart's bone lengths were more similar to the discovered remains than 99% of individuals, supporting the conclusion that they belong to her. What's next: The expedition is slated to embark from Majuro in the Marshall Islands on Nov. 5, spend five days on Nikumaroro inspecting what they believe are pieces of the plane, and return to port on Nov. 21.
New York Post
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
The high-flying life — and love —of aviatrix Amelia Earhart
She was the first woman to fly over the Atlantic Ocean, and the first to accomplish that feat solo. She was a superstar, the most famous woman in the world. She was a pilot, 'it' girl, author, adventurer, fashion designer, evangelist and martyr all in one. Her mysterious and shocking disappearance over the Pacific Ocean in 1937, while attempting to fly around the world, only heightened her legend. Nearly 100 years after her first transatlantic flight, she's still the most famous aviatrix who ever lived: a feminist hero and inspiration to little girls (and boys) everywhere who dream of a daring life. Advertisement 8 Airwoman Amelia Earhart's lesser-known life and marriage are detailed in a new book. Getty Images 8 Amelia Earhart stands in front of her bi-plane called 'Friendship' in Newfoundland on June 14, 1928. Getty Images She's Amelia Earhart. But, as Laurie Gwen Shapiro reveals in a new biography, there's a lot about her that we don't know. 'More people have gotten Amelia Earhart wrong than perhaps any other person in the last century,' Shapiro writes in her new book, 'The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage that Made an American Icon' (Viking, July 15). Advertisement 'Wrong 'facts' about every single aspect of her life. Wrong conclusions about her personality, her career, her goals, her sexuality. And her disappearance.' Shapiro's 450-page tome paints a more complicated portrait of the pilot — specifically through the lens of her controversial relationship with her manager, publisher and (eventual) husband, George Putnam. 8 Earhart and Putman in 1931. source: International News Photos, wikimedia commons Advertisement Known as the P.T. Barnum of book publishing, Putnam made Earhart into a star: He chose her to fly across the Atlantic as the first woman to make the journey by plane — and to have her write about it. He got her lucrative endorsement deals and speaking gigs. He taught her to close her mouth for pictures to hide the gap between her teeth and advised her on her insouciant tousled hairdo, telling her to cut her bob shorter so she resembled famous pilot Charles Lindbergh. He relentlessly promoted her and talked her up to the press. He blew up his marriage to a wealthy heiress for her. 8 Some of the many magazines on which Earhart appeared after her daring solo flights. Photo by Adam Lawrence Advertisement Yet Putnam notoriously pushed his authors to extreme lengths for the sake of publicity and sales. And he took special advantage of Earhart's easygoing, eager-to-please nature. He overscheduled her, booking her for endless talks and galas throughout the country. He scoffed at her need to practice flying and gain proper training and skills. (She was supposed to be the best pilot ever, he reasoned, why would she need more training!) He encouraged her recklessness, setting up dangerous stunts for a quick buck or a sensational headline. Earhart went along with it. On one hand, she was fiercely independent; a staunch feminist, she insisted that she and Putnam keep their finances separate and their marriage open after she finally accepted his proposal. Yet she let him control her time, her obligations and her public image. And she seemed, despite his oafishness, to love him. His rapaciousness catapulted Earhart into the stratosphere. Did it also cause her downfall? 8 Amelia Earhart greets a cheering crowd at Hyde Park High School in 1928. Photo by Mark Gulezian/NPG All Amelia Earhart knew when she arrived at George Putnam's office in the spring of 1928 was that someone in New York City wanted to talk with her about a possible flying venture. The 31-year-old Atchison, Kan., native had fallen in love with aviation while volunteering with the Red Cross in a Toronto hospital during World War I. There, she befriended some officers from the Royal Flying Corps. Watching her pilot friends in the air thrilled her. 'Despite my long hours, I made time for the flying fields,' she wrote. '[The pilots'] youth, their charisma, those takeoffs — it all left an impression.' Advertisement In 1921 — after a stint at Columbia University in New York City — she moved to Los Angeles and began taking flying lessons, scrimping and saving every penny she made through odd jobs, including driving a Mack truck, which horrified her Victorian mother. 8 Earhart's chic bob and elegant attire were reminiscent of fellow air-titan Charles Lindbergh. Library of Congress Earhart, it seems, had several suitors during her time in California, including a long-suffering fiancé who followed her to Boston. But she was more interested in reaching new heights than in settling down. She continued her aerial adventures on the East Coast, exhibiting a flair for promotion. A photo of her soaring over Boston while air-dropping admission passes to a carnival at the settlement house where she worked made the local papers. While performing in 'air rodeos' out West, she cultivated her uniform: sleeping in her leather jacket to achieve the perfect amount of rugged cool. Advertisement Putnam, meanwhile, was looking for his next bestseller. The publisher had previously struck gold commissioning (usually ghostwritten) memoirs from Arctic explorers, intrepid Boy Scouts and other adventurers embarking on life-threatening journeys. Now, he was on the hunt for a woman for a secret flying mission across the Atlantic — and the publishing rights to her tale. Earhart wasn't the best pilot, but she had innate charisma, passion and drive. She also was striking, lissome with almond-shaped eyes and a wide, inviting smile. She combined an all-American earnestness (she didn't drink and rarely smoked) with the liberated mind and fashion sense of the modern Jazz Age woman. The married Putnam was smitten. 8 Book cover for 'The Aviator and the Showman.' As his friend who arranged the meeting recalled years later: 'It was love at first sight.' Advertisement Earhart, along with pilot Wilmer Stultz and mechanic and co-pilot Louis Gordon, set off to Europe on June 3, 1928. The press went wild. They wanted to know everything about this intrepid female flier, tracking down her family members and her on-again-off-again fiancé — much to Putnam's surprise. After they had to land in Newfoundland, due to weather, the trio made it to Wales on June 5. Earhart was celebrated and feted, but it was a bittersweet moment. She did not get to touch the controls of the plane even once — and, maybe more embarrassing, she realized that if she had, she did not possess the skill to maneuver a heavy aircraft in such rough conditions. Worse, writes Shapiro, she felt like a 'faker' due to 'George's excessive promotion of her as a pilot.' She resolved to really work on her flying skills when she got back home. Advertisement 8 Author Laurie Gwen Shapiro. Yet, Putnam had other plans. He had her go to England, where she borrowed fancy gowns and went to endless parties, meeting Winston Churchill and Lady Astor. Then, once back in the States, he had her stay at his family's house in Rye, NY, to work on her book. He also booked her for appearances and conferences and took her out to eat and to the theater — often with his wife. Even after the book was published, Putnam made sure Earhart did everything but fly. He got her an aviation column for Cosmopolitan magazine. He secured endorsement deals for Lucky Strike. He had her launch her own fashion, stationary and luggage lines. Even after they married, in 1931, he continued taking a 10% commission on all the endorsements and speaking engagements. 'We thought he was taking advantage of Amelia,' one friend said. 'She was his meal ticket.' When she set out to do the Atlantic crossing again, this time by herself, many of her colleagues worried. Yet, in 1932, she became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic solo. Maybe Earhart wasn't just really brave. Maybe she was becoming a really great pilot. Earhart famously died in 1937 while attempting to make her most spectacular flight yet — around the world on her own. Before that fateful flight, Shapiro recounts, the 39-year-old pilot told a reporter, ironically, that she had one fear: 'growing old.'
Los Angeles Times
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
‘The Aviator and the Showman' untangles Amelia Earhart's fateful marriage — and thrill-seeking ambition
'Sex, violent death, and mystery. If your life has one of these things people might be interested. If it has two, now you're tabloid fodder. If it has three, you're Amelia Earhart.' So begins Laurie Gwen Shapiro's enticing 'The Aviator and the Showman,' a vibrant account of the courtship and union of the famous pilot and her publisher husband whose intrusive management of his wife's career may have cost her life. Shapiro dexterously untangles the Gordian knot of their entwined passions, shared ambitions and business bottom lines. The affianced Earhart and the married George Palmer Putnam met in his Manhattan office in the spring of 1928. She was 30, he a decade older. While she'd grown up in the Midwest and spent time in California, she was currently living in Boston, employed as a social worker and indulging an enthusiasm for flying in her spare time. Although she was still honing her skills, her tall, lean beauty, capped with a tousled jazz-age bob, caught Putnam's attention. The previous year the publishing exec had rushed out Charles Lindbergh's bestselling 'We,' which detailed Lindy's solo flight across the Atlantic; he was hoping to achieve a similar success for Earhart. Would she be willing to hitch a ride with a crew that summer? Shapiro then circles back to their biographies. Earhart was born into a solidly middle-class family in Kansas, close to her younger sister, Muriel, but her father's job failures and alcoholism uprooted the Earharts, undermining the girls' educations. Earhart was full of mischief and adventure, a natural leader with a modesty instilled by her mother, who was prone to invoking her Quaker background when it suited her. Despite financial insecurity, both parents encouraged their daughters to pursue their dreams, however unconventional — their feminist, progressive spirit guided Earhart like a compass. A stint in Toronto kindled her desire to fly. After another move to Los Angeles, she took lessons from a female instructor, learning basics, but it was a hobby compared to her chosen vocation. She was also juggling men, among them the boyish Sam Chapman, whose proposal she'd tentatively accepted, to a wealthy 64-year-old who showered her with pricey presents, such as an automobile. (Earhart was susceptible to luxury items, which Putnam later exploited). Shapiro's tone is conversational, luring us into a rich story about American media. Her portrait of Putnam is equally magnetic. A large, expansive man and junior partner in a dynastic firm, 'Gyp' had a knack for packaging authors as mass-market products, adept at negotiating deals from London to New York to Hollywood. His troubled marriage to Dorothy Binney Putnam, an heiress, did not restrain him from skimming her fortune to defray his expenses. He recruited Earhart to become the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air, though she spent the duration squeezed between gasoline tanks, 'feeling like a faker due to George's excessive promotion of her as a pilot.' Her return to the U.S. was a Putnam-orchestrated extravaganza that eclipsed the flight: 'Wherever Amelia went, she ignited a frenzy of excitement that not only enraptured audiences but also allowed George to revel in her reflected glory,' Shapiro notes. 'He was invigorated by her carefree and glamorous aura. Amelia was the 'it girl'... urbane, relaxed, and effortlessly charming.' Their affair triggered Putnam's divorce, and the pair married in 1931, residing at his estate in Rye, N.Y. 'The Aviator and the Showman' is a lavish, layered narrative, a primer on early aviation and the transition of publishing from genteel carriage trade to an industry increasingly reliant on blockbusters. Putnam mastered the moment; to this day, corporations demand photogenic authors, high-stakes publicity, spreadsheet tweaks and magical thinking. From Big Five houses to small presses, from Amazon to Barnes & Noble to pocket independent stores: We are all descendants of George Putnam. Earhart never lost her eye for attractive men, though, tipping Shapiro into the occasional cliché or purple flourish. 'Captain Manning's handsome good looks and gentlemanliness greatly appealed to Amelia,' she writes. 'Sam Chapman who? Could a budding romantic connection from these intoxicating nights at sea grow after they docked?' Putnam was jealous of his wife's flirtations, and tinkered with her schedule accordingly. Shapiro chronicles the couple's reach, as Putnam stamped Amelia's imprimatur onto (white) American womanhood, a prototype still among us: role model for younger women, professional and practical, efficient by day, elegant by night. He spun her myth into fashion and merchandise, even a brief editorial gig at Cosmopolitan. (Earhart loved poetry but was no gifted writer herself.) They bought expensive cars, a stylish house in Toluca Lake and Amelia's signature Lockheed Electra. Dollar signs in his eyes, Putnam helped Earhart assemble a team for her 1937 global trek, including her trusted technical advisor Paul Mantz, and Fred Noonan, a seasoned navigator with a taste for liquor. The author's recreation of Earhart's final odyssey, manipulated by Putnam's controlling personality, will seem familiar, yet Shapiro teases out two factors: the Electra's faulty transmissions and Earhart's limitations (she never bothered to learn Morse code). 'The Aviator and the Showman' leaves no doubt about Earhart's disappearance: She misjudged her gasoline reserves, panicked and crashed near tiny Howland atoll. The wreck of the Electra sits on the Pacific's floor, Shapiro asserts, at a level deeper than the ruins of the Titanic. One reporter's 'most scathing critique was directed toward George Palmer Putnam, whom he saw as motivated more by profit than by his wife's safety, a sentiment fueled by seeing cabled messages pressuring Amelia to hasten her journey for a lucrative radio deal.' Putnam's post-Earhart life was a roller coaster of cash woes and notoriety; the following year he staged his own kidnapping, alienating his stodgy publishing community. His appetite for publicity was insatiable. 'The Aviator and the Showman' reveals the magnitude of our celebrity worship, the wonder of what we don't understand. Shapiro captures the thrill of a leap into the unknown, recalling the works of Jon Krakauer and Sebastian Junger. Cain is a book critic and the author of a memoir, 'This Boy's Faith: Notes From a Southern Baptist Upbringing.' He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
