Amelia Mary Earhart was an American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She received the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross for this record. She set many other records, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots. Earhart joined the faculty of the Purdue University aviation department in 1935 as a visiting faculty member to counsel women on careers and help inspire others with her love for aviation. She was also a member of the National Woman's Party, and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment.
During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937 in a Purdue-funded Lockheed Model 10 Electra, Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island. Fascination with her life, career and disappearance continues to this day.
Hey everyone, I'm Mike Chen.
So one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in history could potentially be solved.
You might have heard of Amelia Earhart before.
She was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
She set many other records, wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences, and was
instrumental in the formation of the 99th, an organization for female pilots.
But during an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937, Earhart disappeared
over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island.
Earhart nor the plane was ever found.
New research strongly suggests that a piece of aluminum aircraft debris recovered in 1991
from Nikumaruru, an uninhabited island in the southwestern Pacific Republic of Kiribati,
does in fact belong to Earhart's twin-engined plane Electra.
But here's the question, why did it take all these years to confirm this?
Researchers say the problem was that the piece they found had an odd shape and size, and
it didn't seem to fit any part of the plane.
But then the research team noticed that in pictures taken of the Electra as it took off
from Miami on June 1st, 1937, the plane had a shiny patch near its tail, covering what
had been a specifically made window.
This patch turned out to be an improvised repair, and so was completely unique to Earhart's
plane.
The piece that was found was a perfect match in size, shape, and even patterns of rivet
holes.
The breakthrough would prove that, contrary to what was generally believed, Earhart and
her navigator Fred Nonan did not crash in the Pacific Ocean running out of fuel somewhere
near their target destination of Howland Island.
Instead, they made a forced landing on Nikumaroro's smooth, flat coral reef.
There have been many theories about what happened to Earhart and her navigator Fred Nonan.
Some say Earhart was captured by the Japanese, or that she found her way back to the US and
lived out her life as a New Jersey housewife.
To me, the mystery is not solved.
So let's say Amelia and Fred were stranded on an island all by themselves for maybe the
rest of their lives.
How long did they survive for?
Did they have a castaway love story?
Is there like a secret journal hidden somewhere on the little island that tells the story
of what happened to Amelia and Fred after they landed on the island?
Let me know what you think.
Do you believe the mystery of Amelia Earhart's disappearance is finally solved?
Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for watching.
See ya.
