The Earhart mystery

Deseret Morning News graphic    The Earhart mystery

How do you lose track of a well-publicized flight monitored by the Coast Guard and equipped with then-state-of-the-art radio and navigation gear?

How does an experienced pilot like Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, suddenly vanish without a trace?

The 70th anniversary of Earhart's attempt to circumnavigate the globe (May 20,1937), and a new expedition to the Pacific by The Internatinal Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, has once again raised questions that have intrigued the public for years.

Earhart was a true aviation pioneer. In her 40 years, she accumulated a number of aeronautical firsts. No small accomplishment in a field dominated by men.

Earhart was born in Atchison, Kan., on July 24, 1897. Her father, Edwin, was an attorney with the railroad, a job that forced the family to move several times. In fact, Earhart attended six high schools and three colleges.

In 1918, during World War I, Earhart worked as a nurse's aide in Canada and later that year took her first flying lesson, soloing after 10 hours of instruction. She received her pilot's license in 1922.

This was the beginning of "Lady Lindy's" aviation career. Earhart was dubbed "Lady Lindy" because of her resem-blance to Charles Lindbergh — not only in appearance but also in temperament.

· · · · ·

Amelia Earhart

• 1932: First solo flight across the Atlantic by a woman.

• 1935: First solo flight from Hawaii to Oakland, Calif.

• 1935: First nonstop flight from Mexico City to Newark N.J.

Fred Noonan

• Former navigator for Pan American Airways.

• Helped pioneer trans-Pacific routes.

• Fired from Pan American for alcoholism.

· · · · ·

At the time of Earhart's attempt to circumnavigate the globe, the Pacific was on the brink of World War II. Rumors that Earhart had been recruited to photograph Japanese fortifications in the Pacific seemed plausible, especially when some aircraft technicians who worked on the Electra later swore they had fitted the aircraft with cameras. Later inquiries about the ill-fated flight conducted by the U.S. and Japanese governments failed to give any credibility to the theory.

· · · · ·

The stories

Many theories about Earhart and Noonan's fate have surfaced over the years, ranging from the Electra running out of fuel and going down at sea, to the pair being stranded on a desert island, to government cover-ups of a spying mission, to the couple being captured by the Japanese. Here are some of the stories: