Amelia+Earhart's+Disappearance

Amelia Earhart's Disappearance

Finally, after months of waiting, Amelia Earhart was delivered her rebuilt Electra plane. With this, she could finally reattempt her world flight. Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, began this world flight from Los Angeles, California on Friday, May 21, 1937. The pair flew to Miami, Florida where they publicly announced their trip. On June 1, 1937 Earhart left Miami Florida eastbound on a flight that had never before been completed by a woman. Unfortunately, Earhart would not be the one to change that.

The trip ran rather smoothly until pounding monsoons delayed their departure from Bandoeng. The team used this time to make repairs but Earhart and Noonan faced another obstacle when Earhart became sick with dysentery for several days. Finally, on June 27, the pair was back on track and able to depart from Bandoeng for Port Darwin, Australia. After Australia, Earhart and Noonan flew to Lae in New Guinea where they would arrive on June 29. They only had 7,000 miles left to go; all of which being over the Pacific Ocean.

The team left Lae at exactly 00:00 hours. They were bound for Howland Island, off the coast of which the U.S. Coast Guard cutter, Itasca, would be sitting to act as a radio contact. The Electra was thought to have departed Lae with 1,000 gallons of fuel, which would allow for about 20-21 hours of flying.Earhart made her last radio contact with Lae at 08:00. The Itasca received many short radio transmissions varying in strength but they could not determine her location because the transmissions were too short. At 20:14, the Itasca received the last voice transmission from Earhart. The Itasca continued trying to reach Earhart via radio transmissions until 21:30 hours, when search procedures were activated.



President Franklin Delano Roosevelt authorized a search which included 9 naval ships and 66 aircrafts, costing over $4 million. However, on July 18, the search was abandoned. Earhart was declared dead on January 5, 1939. Neither Amelia Earhart nor Fred Noonan were ever found. There have been several theories and superstitions as to what did happen to Earhart and where she is. None of these, however, have ever been proven. To this day, Amelia Earhart's disappearance remains a mystery.

Many people wonder why the fascination with Earhart's disappearance exists. Why all the hype and superstitions? There is a very simple explanation. During the Depression, people didn't have a lot to get excited about and look forward to. Amelia Earhart gave the public something to follow, get excited about, and be a part of. She showed them that just because it was the Depression, it didn't mean people couldn't still do amazing things. Also, the time leading up to, during, and following the Depression were big turning points for women in reference to gender roles and freedoms. After all, it was less than 20 years before Earhart's trip that women were even granted the right to vote! It was slowly becoming more acceptable for women to work outside the home and do things without relying on men. Women all over the country looked at Amelia Earhart and saw the future. They were inspired by all that she had done and was doing, and gave them hope for the future.

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