Amelia Earhart: Famous Pilot who Disappeared
Aviation Record-Breaker who Vanished on her Last Flight
Oct 3, 2008
What happened to Amelia Earhart? This has been an enduring mystery in aviation since she vanished in the South Pacific in 1937, two-thirds of the way through an extremely risky attempt at a round-the-word record. The disappearance made her world famous, conspiracy theories abound, and as a result she is perhaps the best-known woman pilot of them all. But who was this famous aviatrix?
Amelia Earhart's Early Life
Born on July 24th 1897, Amelia spent her childhood in various towns, including Kansas City and Des Moines. She had a troubled childhood, and left college after a year, finding it stifling. She took a course in first aid, and cared for injured soldiers during World War 1. Then in 1920 her life changed when she was fgiven a ride in an airplane, and she decided: “I knew I had to fly”.
Amelia’s Flying Career
Working several jobs, Amelia managed to save $1000 for flying lessons. In 1921 she bought her first aircraft, and in 1922 took it to 14,000 feet, setting an altitude record for female pilots. She obtained her pilot’s licence in 1923.
A year later she and her mother relocated to Boston where Amelia met her future husband, George Palmer Putnam, who chose her to be the first female passenger on a transatlantic flight.. She entered the “Powder Puff Derby’ in 1929 and came third. She and Putnam married in 1931, and her husband organised all of Amelia’s flights and public appearances. He also arranged for her to endorse flight luggage and sports clothes, and this helped finance her flying. She also developed a passenger airline service along with Lindbergh.
Amelia is perhaps best known for her transatlantic flight, which she achieved in 1932, becoming the first woman to fly the Atlantic alone. She also became the first person to cross the Atlantic twice, and the first person to fly from Honolulu in Hawaii to Oakland in California. In addition she was the first pilot to fly solo across both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Between 1930 and 1935 she set seven women’s speed and distance aviation records.
The Final Flight
In June 1937 Amelia embarked on her fateful final flight. With navigator Fred Noonan she took off from New Guinea after 22,000 miles of flying. Their intended destination was Howland Island, a small island in the middle of the ocean. Her last radio transmission was received the following morning, but the two of them were never heard from or seen again, and her plane has never been found.
Before commencing her attempted circumnavigation, Amelia said: “Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others”. She had always been an inspiration for women and aviators everywhere.
Source
The 100 Greatest Women in Aviation, Liz Moscrop & Sanjay Rampal, Aerocomm Ltd 2008
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