AMELIA EARHART

By Ravisankar.s.menon
IX D
44

Introduction

Amelia Mary Earhart, born on July 24, 1879

and disappeared on July 2, 1937. was an
Americanaviationpioneer and author.
Earhart was the first femaleaviatorto
fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She
received the U.S.Distinguished Flying
Crossfor this record. She set many
other records, wrote best-selling books
about her flying experiences and was
instrumental in the formation ofThe
Ninety-Nines, an organization for female
pilots.

Chilhood

Amelia Mary Earhart, daughter of Samuel "Edwin" Stanton

Earhart and Amelia "Amy"OtisEarhartwas born
inAtchison, Kansas, in thehome of her maternal
Grandfather, Alfred Gideon Otis (18271912), a
formerfederal judge, president of the Atchison Savings
Bank and a leading citizen in the town. Amelia was the
second child of the marriage, after an infant stillborn in
August 1896. As a child, Earhart spent long hours playing
with Pidge, climbing trees, hunting rats with a rifle and
"belly-slamming" her sled downhill. Although this love of
the outdoors and "rough-and-tumble" play was common to
many youngsters, some biographers have characterized the
young Earhart as atomboy. The two sisters, Amelia and
Muriel (she went by her middle name from her teens on),
remained with their grandparents in Atchison, while their
parents moved into new, smaller quarters in Des Moines
where she was taught by her mother and governess.

Career

On January 11, 1935, Earhart became the first person to fly solo
fromHonolulu, Hawaii toOakland, California. Although this
transoceanic flight had been attempted by many others, most
notably by the unfortunate participants in the 1927Dole Air
Racewhich had reversed the route, her trailblazing flight had
been mainly routine, with no mechanical breakdowns. In her final
hours, she even relaxed and listened to "the broadcast of the
Metropolitan Opera from New York.That year, once more flying
her faithful Vega which Earhart had tagged "old Bessie, the fire
horse,"she soloed from Los Angeles to Mexico City on April 19.
The next record attempt was a nonstop flight from Mexico City to
New York. Setting off on May 8, her flight was uneventful although
the large crowds that greeted her atNewark, New Jersey, were a
concern as she had to be careful not to taxi into the throng.

Departure from Lae

On July 2, 1937, midnight GMT, Earhart and

Noonan took off from Lae in the heavily loaded
Electra. Their intended destination was Howland
Island, a flat sliver of land 6,500ft (2,000 m)
long and 1,600ft (500 m) wide, 10ft (3 m) high
and 2,556 miles (4,113km) away. Their last
known position report was near theNukumanu
islands, about 800 miles (1,300km) into the
flight. TheUSCGC Itascawas on station at
Howland, assigned to communicate with
Earhart's Electra and guide them to the island
once they arrived in the vicinity.

Final approach to Howland Island

Through a series of misunderstandings or errors

(the details of which are still controversial), the
final approach to Howland Island using radio
navigationwas not successful. Fred Noonan had
earlier written about problems affecting the
accuracy of radio direction finding in
navigation.Another cited cause of possible
confusion was that theItascaand Earhart
planned their communication schedule using time
systems set a half hour apart, with Earhart using
Greenwich Civil Time (GCT) and theItascaunder
a Naval time zone designation system.

Legacy

Earhart was a widely known international

celebrity during her lifetime. Her shyly
charismatic appeal, independence,
persistence, coolness under pressure, courage
and goal-oriented career along with the
circumstances of her disappearance at a
comparatively early age have driven her
lastingfameinpopular culture. Hundreds of
articles and scores of books have been written
about her life which is often cited as a
motivational tale, especially for girls. Earhart
is generally regarded as a feminist icon.