The Search for Amelia Earhart

NEWSILLUSTRATED The search for AMELIA EARHART AP photo On June 1, 1937, Amelia Earhart departed Miami on a quest to become the first woman to fly around the world. By July 2, she was missing. A new expedition in July attempts to find out what happened. Navigator's table Extra fuel tanks Loop antenna Radio direction finder loop RETRACING THE JOURNEY Transmitting Pilot antenna escape - hatch Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan (right) officially began their trip from Miami Municipal Airport in her customized Receiving antenna LOCKHEED ELECTRA 10E Lockheed twin engine plane. Extra fuel tanks AP photo Weight: 10,500 pounds Wing span: 55 feet Speed: 202 mph Range: Modified to go 1,600 miles BROWARD COUNTY MIAMI-DADE COUNTY Opa-Locka Airport 27 Miami International Airport NW 41 St. Dolphin Expwy. Route The trip would have been the longest around-the-world flight at 29,000 miles, and follows an Lae, New Guinea Earhart and Noonan arrived here on June 29,1937 after numerous stops across the globe. At this point, 22,000 miles of the trip had been completed. Oakland Takes off on моRTH AMERICA O May 21, 1937. equatorial route. Miami Official пии Burbank New Orleans ASIA starting point o June 1, 1937. Karachi, Pakistan Tucson Gao, Mali El Fasher, Sudan Sittwe, Burma St. Louis, Dakar, Senegal 8 Khartoum, Sudan 0O Rangoon, Burma Нопolale, Haweii San Juan, Puerto Rico O Calcutta, India O Bangkok, Thailand Cumana, o Venezuela Paramaribo, Surinam Massawa, Assab, Eritrea DETAIL N'Djamena, Chad Actual route AREA Surabaya, Indonesia Pacific Ocean Planned route BELOW Singapore O Stops EQUATOR EQUATOR Planned stops AFRICA Fortaleza, Brazil Indian Bandung. O O Ocean Indonesia Lae, New Guinea Natal, Brazil Kupang Indonesia Pacific Ocean Atlantic SOUTH AMERICA Darwin, Australia Ocean AUSTRALIA 2,000 MILES Honolulu, Hawaii O Wake Is. +-- Radio signal direction The plane's transmitter, battery and antenna would have to be above water to send signals POSSIBLE EVIDENCE ON NIKUMARORO Pacific Ocean In 1940, bones were found and subsequently identified as a white woman about Earhart's age and height, but the bones were lost. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery will search two sites on Nikumaroro to look for evidence proving Earhart and Noonan were castaways. Marshall I. LOSING CONTACT Seven Site Faint radio signals were picked up from the direction of the Phoenix Islands in Hawaii, Wake Island and elsewhere on July 4 and 5 ....* after their disappearance. A search party flew over Gardner Island (now named Nikumaroro) on July 9, 1937 and reported "signs of recent habitation." A "castaway's campsite" with fish, animal bones, Aukairame fire remnants and crude tools was excavated in 2001. New excavations will try to determine if objects or remains present reveal the identity of the castaways. Gilbert I. North EQUATOR Tatiman passage Reef TOKELAU I. Lagoon Bauareke 1 Lae, New Guinea Earhart and Noonan left July 2, 1937, for Howland Island more than 2,550 miles away. Ellice I. passage 3 Last transmission Flying from New Guinea, they could not see Howland Island. 14 MILE 500 MILES Aukairame South Their last message indicated they were flying north and south along a line of 157/337 degrees. Village Airplane parts suspected to be from Earhart's plane found in 2003. Team will look for more airplane parts in the same area. Pacific Ocean Darwin, Australia 2 Nukumanu Islands Earhart's last reported position. SOURCES: The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, Finding Amelia by Ric Gillespie, AP, MCT kiveyesun-sentinel.com Staff graphic/Karsten Ivey ППППП