Amelia Earhart mystery – 1937 photograph could be clue to her fate

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Amelia Earhart mystery – 1937 photograph could be clue to her fate 

Back in June of 2013 I blogged about the news of the latest evidence pointing to the popular theory regarding the disappearance of noted aviatrix Amelia Earhart and her co-pilot Fred Noonan during their attempted around-the-world flight in 1937.  This theory has it that Earhart and Noonan missed their scheduled refuelling stop at the tiny (< 1 mile square) Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean and flew on in their twin-engined Lockheed Electra until forced to come down on one of a group of then-uninhabited atolls known as the Phoenix Islands - probably the larger Gardner Island (now known as Nikumaroro).

source - Daily Mirror

This hypothesis is by no means a recent one - Gardner Island was identified as a potential emergency landing ground almost immediately after the Electra's disappearance and reconnaissance flights were made over the atoll during the initial two-week official search, with pilots noting "signs of recent habitation" but no "answering wave from possible inhabitants" when they zoomed low over the rocks.  Later private searches including around the Phoenix Islands produced no evidence of pilots or machine and their ultimate fate has been the subject of investigations and conspiracy theories for three-quarters of a century.

The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHER) - a non-profit organisation founded in 1985 for "aviation archaeology and historic preservation" - have been pursuing the Gardner Island theory for several years now, culminating in last year's expedition to Nikumaroro where sonar scans of the surrounding sea bed threw up an odd shadow 600ft below the waves that could be the remains of the Electra.

Piece of metal may offer clue to disappearance of Amelia Earhart's plane

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Now TIGHER are following up another lead with the discovery of a previously unknown photograph (which can be seen in the original Miami Herald article) of Earhart's Lockheed Electra at Miami Municipal Airport on the 1st June 1937, shortly before take-off for the next stint of the journey to Puerto Rico.  In it, a detail not seen in any other photo of the time - a sheet of metal covering what would previously have been a window.  More intriguingly, no record of this repair exists among all the documentation linked to Earhart's flight.

Among the many artefacts that TIGHAR have brought back from Nikumaroro - which include a 1930s-style woman's shoe (similar to ones worn by Earhart), bearings & tools, metal zips and pieces of Plexiglas almost identical in shape and design to that used on the Electra - is a section of aluminium panel bearing 1930s construction techniques.  It is this piece of metal that researchers are now closely comparing to a computer-enhanced blow-up of this never-before-seen image in the hope that they can match the rivet patterns and so prove beyond doubt that Earhart and Noonan did not crash into the Pacific Ocean but did indeed make it to Gardner Island, where they may have even survived for a time before succumbing to starvation and exposure.

If it can be proved that the aluminium panel seen in this new picture matches the piece recovered from Nikumaroro then it must surely settle beyond doubt one of the most enduring mysteries in aviation history - one that has remained unsolved for 77 years.  While this would not be the first bit of tangible evidence suggesting the Electra landed on Gardner Island, and with the Pacific Ocean ditch still a possibility, if the rivet patterns do match it will - taken with the other items found - be as conclusive as possible proof that the last resting place of Amelia Earhart, one of the greatest women pilots of the 20th century, has been found.  I for one certainly look forward to finding out!

Wreckage of Amelia Earhart plane may be found

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Pacific sonar 'streak' may be wreck of Amelia Earhart's plane

Many online news sources both here and in America were abuzz a little over a week ago with the latest possibility in the ongoing search for wreckage or other evidence of pioneer aviatrix Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra, which vanished seemingly without a trace during her (and navigator Fred Noonan's) attempted around-the-world flight on the 2nd July 1937.

Amelia Earhart's remarkable achievements and the rightful fame they earned her have meant that her name continues to resonate throughout history and her mysterious disappearance somewhere between Australia and the Hawaiian islands 76 years ago has ensured that she - and her ultimate fate - is still discussed to this day.

What happened to Earhart, Noonan and their aircraft on that day in 1937 has been the subject of innumerable theories - conspiratorial or otherwise - over the years.  The prevailing theory is that they missed their refuelling stop of Howland Island - a mere speck in the Pacific Ocean less than one square mile in size, ran out of fuel and crashed either into the sea or on one of the eight atolls and coral reefs that make up the nearby Phoenix Islands group.

Unexplained shadow 600ft under Pacific could be Amelia Earhart’s missing plane

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If they ditched in the open sea it is very likely that anything in the way of mechanical or human remains will ever be found, particularly as in some areas - even close to the islands - the water reaches a depth of 23,000ft.  However since around 2007 one group of aviation researchers, The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, have been actively investigating the theory that Earhart and Noonan made it to (or close to) Nikumaroro (also known as Gardner Island) where they may even have survived for several weeks before perishing.

In those six years TIGHAR have made several fascinating but ultimately inconclusive discoveries on or around Nikumararo, including tools and metalwork that may have come from the Electra, clothing and products associated with Amelia Earhart (for example a 1930s shoe similar to ones seen in photos of her and period face cream for pale, freckled complexions) and possible human bones.

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Now sonar scans of the waters surrounding the island have thrown up an unidentified mass a few hundred feet down, which does not appear to conform to any known wreck or coral formation.  Could this be part of the Lockheed Electra, which Earhart managed to land on or near the reef?  That is the question that this latest discovery poses and which TIGHAR hopes to answer in the coming weeks.  I for one will be very keen to hear what they find.  In the meantime, as this investigation and the interest surrounding it proves, the story of Amelia Earhart and her untimely disappearance continues to intrigue and beguile nearly eight decades on.