The Mystery of Amelia Earhart

[PennySycamore]

I wasn't sure where to put this, but the History Channel is airing a special on Sunday evening that explores whether or not Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, survived the crash of her Lockheed Electra in the Pacific on their next to last leg of their flight around the world in 1937.

Amelia Earhart may have survived crash landing -Never seen photos

I first heard the idea that Earhart and Noonan had crashed in the Marshalls, were captured by the the Japanese and taken to Saipan where they died in 1937 or '38 about 50 years ago in a book I found in the library by Fred Goerner.  A woman born on Saipan had called his radio show in San Francisco and told him that a white woman flier was a prisoner of the Japanese on Saipan in 1937.  Fred did some investigation and came to the conclusion that Earhart and Noonan had been asked to do a flight over the Japanese-held Marshall Island (In particular Truk) and report back to the military.  The Electra was modified with a larger fuel tank so they could make the overflight.  Since we were not at war with Japan yet. when they crashed in the Marshalls, we could not admit that this famous flier was spying for the US. 

Goerner found other Saiapnese that remembered the white woman flier in 1937.  Some said that she died of dysentery and some said that she and Noonan were executed by the Japanese.  Fred also met American soldiers and sailors who said that they were told to guard an American's bones.  I can't remember offhand if they were told that they were Earhart's bones or not. (I think so.) The bones were to be sent to the National Archives, but they have disappeared if they were ever at the Archives.  Goerner was also stymied when he tried to find official records as many of them were classified.  

Now there is the photo of two white people on Jaluit atoll in 1937.  Facial recognition experts say that these two people are likely Earhart and Noonan.

Of course, there is the group TIGHAR who insist with very little evidence that Amelia and Fred crash landed on Phoenix Island and died there.  There are some people that point out that Earhart and Noonan likely crashed at sea.  A small plane sinks in a matter of minutes and no trace need be found.  And there are a few people (in the minority) that say that Amelia was a lousy flier and well, shit happens.

What do others think?

[catlady]

there was an article in my local paper about this today.  i've heard about a few theories about what happened to them, but not a lot of information.  i will probably watch the show.

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

Thanks for the info, @PennySycamore! I'm setting up my DVR right now. I'm interested, but I don't have any strong opinions on the topic. 

I did like the Star Trek:  Voyager episode where Earhart and Noonan turned up on an alien planet a few hundred years after the aliens kidnapped them. Amusing solution. 

[AuntK]

Fascinating. Thanks for posting.

[Bethella]

What little I've seen with the promos is really interesting but I'm reserving judgement until after the show airs. As a historian it really pisses me off when they take evidence and inflate the value/meaning of it just to increase the drama (and therefore the ratings) of a show.

[THERetroGamerNY]

7 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

Of course, there is the group TIGHAR who insist with very little evidence that Amelia and Fred crash landed on Phoenix Island and died there.  There are some people that point out that Earhart and Noonan likely crashed at sea.  A small plane sinks in a matter of minutes and no trace need be found.  And there are a few people (in the minority) that say that Amelia was a lousy flier and well, shit happens.

I hate to say it, but the Japanese theory that Goerner first put out in his book has a number of flaws that sink the theory completely. It also has been chiefly held afloat via blurry photos of what could just about be anything - including a few forgeries along the way.

What we DO know is that the Electra was not a water-tight craft. The radio lines were on the bottom of the fuselage, and the electricity to power the radio required spinning props. So the second the belly hits water the radio line is submerged, and the electricity being put into it from the engines would've shorted it out instantly. The radio therefore would NOT have broadcast once the plane hit water. We know, nowadays, that the Itasca DID recieve radio transmissions from her after she had vanished/crashed/whatever - up to five days in fact. 

This means the Electra was either on, or flying above solid ground... whereas Goerner's theory rather sinks at this point, despite rather elaborate attempts to keep the theory alive.

Also... this special is airing on the History Channel, so... there's little credibility here.

Now, for me: The TIGHAR evidence is a bit better than some make it out to be. Occam's Razer kinda pulls me towards the far simplier theory of her crashing at Gardner Island.

Reasons for thinking this also are because her navigator seems to have likely made mistakes; there is some evidence that the plane wasn't fueled properly; and (as mentioned) there is almost undeniable evidence that the radio wire was either damaged, or at the least of major concern - it isn't visible in photos, yet a detached radio wire wasn't found on the runway.

Also, the radio was of moderate complexity to use, and she was only given a brief intro as to its use.

Anyways... TIGHAR's evidence seems to strongly indicate the findings of a wreck in that area.

At least to me.

A 1937 photo looks to have a landing strut from an Electra showing. Ball bearings perhaps from the plane... a zipper perhaps from her flight suit... improvised tools were found. A sheet of 1930s aluminum paneling was found as well. An odd piece of plexiglass.

Solidly conclusive? I doubt that'll ever happen ... the plane will have been disintegrated by now, so finding these piecemeal artifacts is likely as best it gets.

But none of the pieces doesn't fit the picture is the thing in my head.

The picture they have for the History Channel special - that could be anything. There were several white prisoners during that time, and legends and rumors grow. They indictate that the blurry photo shows part of the Electra aircraft off to the side. This is impossible. It had no fuel for such. And it couldn't have floated to shore - because the radio WAS working.

I kinda wish she had made it to land, been captured... some secret military op she was tasked with. Far more exciting than a simple wreck... but I honestly think that's what we have.

 

[LadyCrow1313]

Fascinating subject. Maybe it's just one of the great mysteries of the world that we're just never know what truly happened.

[PennySycamore]

@LadyCrow1313,  I don't think we'll ever know what happened either.  It's a shame that Amelia Earhart's disappearance  are more famous nowadays than the remarkable life she led.

[Scrabblemaster]

15 hours ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

I did like the Star Trek:  Voyager episode where Earhart and Noonan turned up on an alien planet a few hundred years after the aliens kidnapped them. Amusing solution. 

Oh my God! I am a Star Trek Voyager fan as well! Since I was 14 years old! Are you me???

[hoipolloi]

16 hours ago, WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo? said:

I did like the Star Trek:  Voyager episode where Earhart and Noonan turned up on an alien planet a few hundred years after the aliens kidnapped them. Amusing solution. 

Wow! Missed that one.

In an odd way, this reminds me of Barbara Hambly's excellent contribution to the Star Trek Original Series, called Ishmael, where Star Trek merges with late 1960s TV show Here Come the Brides -- a great read!

18 hours ago, PennySycamore said:

Of course, there is the group TIGHAR who insist with very little evidence that Amelia and Fred crash landed on Phoenix Island and died there.

I respectfully suggest that this is not a fair characterization of TIGHAR's work, for which they have provided a lot of documentation. They would be the first to say that there's not a LOT of evidence but they have done a meticulous job of working with documentary & historic sources and then following up with extensive field investigations.

The "new" photo highlighted by this TV show is not particularly convincing to me -- for starters, if the two alleged Caucasians are supposed to be prisoners of the Japanese, what are they doing standing/sitting around on a dock with no apparent guards? Sure doesn't comport with any account of prisoner treatment by Japanese forces that I've seen. 

[Buzzard]

9 hours ago, THERetroGamerNY said:

I kinda wish she had made it to land, been captured... some secret military op she was tasked with. Far more exciting than a simple wreck... but I honestly think that's what we have.

Sure, in 1937 the Nazis were already committing their murders and the Japanese were building warships, but would the US govt ask a WOMAN to undertake such a spy mission?  Would they allow something that was as high profile as her flights to be included in some spy games?  I just dont think so, and even if they did, why would she be held prisoner by a country that we werent at war with?

[THERetroGamerNY]

Like I said: It's an intriguing story, and one that is definitely more exciting than what I likely think happened.

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

On 7/7/2017 at 0:21 PM, Scrabblemaster said:

Oh my God! I am a Star Trek Voyager fan as well! Since I was 14 years old! Are you me???

I'm around 10 years older than you are, then.   I guess I could be a future you?

[tabitha2]

Really.. she either met her end on some barren pacific rock or more likely ended up at the bottom of the ocean .  There are real honest to Goddess historical mysteries our there to fixate on. 

[2manyKidzzz]

I watched it and it was interesting. I do believe the picture. There are numerous eyewitness accounts from people native to the Marshall Islands and Saipan. 

Also, and I had heard this before, a nurse in Kentucky heard the distress call for two days after she disappeared over her radio. 

Apparently the government couldn't acknowledge she was in Japanese held territory, and it somehow tied into not letting them know they had broken the code. So they covered it up. 

Anyway she is gone. And we knew that. 

[PennySycamore]

I did like the explanation that they gave for how Earhart and Noonan could have flown off course and ended up on Milli Atoll.  If they'd intended a Truk overflight (which is what Goerner argued) they would have needed more fuel, but not if they were blown off course to Milli.  

[2manyKidzzz]

Everything really fell into place in my mind. I totally enjoyed the show and I love mysteries for sure. The bone fragments found in 1968 were those of a 40 year old Caucasian woman. Earhart was 39 when she disappeared. 

The picture is really amazing to me. 

[PennySycamore]

If anyone is wondering how people from all over the globe could have heard shortwave broadcasts on Amelia's dedicated channel in the first few days after Earhart and Noonan disappeared,  console radios typically had shortwave bands in addition to the AM band.  That nurse from Kentucky was standing beside one of those console radios.  My dad had one which had places on the dial marked London and other overseas cities. You could listen to the BBC at the London making and so on.  There were also amateur radio operators around then.  All this to point out that people did sometimes listen to shortwave radio in those days.  My dad would occasionally have his old radio working and we'd listen to the BBC or Delhi or Rio.

No wonder my dad and mom became hams later in life.

[2manyKidzzz]

I have always heard the stories that she ended up in the Marshall Islands. But there was not definitive follow up. And there was a picture actually.

So, it was in some ways a coverup. Because of the approach of WWII and the potential involvement of the Japanese and the fact that there would be uproar from the American public that there wasn't follow up. I am sad that she potentially was brutally killed. Guess I need to let that go for sure. 

[hoipolloi]

Update on the photo "evidence," which appears to come from a photo published 2 years before Earhart & Noonan disappeared:

Quote

 

The image was part of a Japanese-language travelogue about the South Seas that was published almost two years before Earhart disappeared. Page 113 states the book was published in Japanese-held Palau on 10 October 1935.

The caption beneath the image makes no mention of the identities of the people in the photograph. It describes maritime activity at the harbour on Jabor in the Jaluit atoll – the headquarters for Japan’s administration of the Marshall Islands between the first world war and its defeat in the second world war.

 

 

[2manyKidzzz]

1 hour ago, hoipolloi said:

Update on the photo "evidence," which appears to come from a photo published 2 years before Earhart & Noonan disappeared:

 

Well, this is quite mysterious. The plane being towed in the picture is strange as no mention was made of Earhart having needed rescue in that part of the world before he final trip. 

The anecdotal evidence is interesting as are the findings of the bones dug up by the servicemen and analyzed to be a Caucasian woman of about 40. 

Why wouldn't the history channel have found out that the picture was "not quite right"?

I don't know how often old mysteries are solved. Especially ones spread out around the world. 

[hoipolloi]

9 hours ago, 2manyKidzzz said:

Why wouldn't the history channel have found out that the picture was "not quite right"?

My guess is that the "History" Channel is long on PR & sensation and short on research & accuracy.

[2manyKidzzz]

7 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

My guess is that the "History" Channel is long on PR & sensation and short on research & accuracy.

Quite probably. I did see then last night the National Geo article refuting the article. Well, it does look like Earhart and Noonan......and it is an old photo and the book could have misdated it. I don't know. 

So it seems the mystery is not definitively solved. But the two servicemen were told to dig up the graves. 

So many years have passed. And so it goes. 

[SusanDelgado]

This story has always fascinated me, we don't have tv or I'd watch the show.