Did Amelia Earheart Survive Her Plane Crash? Some New Evidence Suggests So
Amelia Earhart's death has been shrouded in mystery ever since her plane disappeared in 1937. The [...]
Amelia Earhart's death has been shrouded in mystery ever since her plane disappeared in 1937. The widely-accepted theory maintained that the legendary pilot died in a plane crash. However, The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) has offered an alternate opinion of the incident in that they believe Earhart safely landed her plane, and then died as a castaway.
Ric Gillespie of TIGHAR delivered a presentation in the US last month, and provided a more in depth defense of their hypothesis.
Earhart became the first female pilot to complete a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. After this accomplishment, she embarked on a mission to fly 47,000 km around the world.
Four months after she departed on her trip, she ran into issues on July 2, 1937. Her plane was last seen on radar on this day as she was flying at 375km in search of Howland Island, southwest of Honolulu. She was low on fuel, so it is believed that she safely landed on another island named Nikumaroro or Gardner Island, 640km southeast of Howland Island.
According to Mr. Ric Gillespie, there were more than 100 radio transmissions from Earhart between the dates July 2 to July 6.
"People started hearing radio distress calls from the aeroplane and they were verified," Mr. Gillespie explained.
One woman in Melbourne, Australia even picked up Earhart's frequency, according to News.com. Another person that picked up on the frequency was a housewife in Texas who heard Earhart calling for help. She also recalled listening to Earhart explain that the plane had landed part in water and part on land.
Gillespie mentioned that Earhart told the radio operators that she was injured, as was her navigator, Fred Noonan. The woman then grabbed a notebook to transcribe Earhart's call for help.
"It's very confusing, some things don't seem to make sense," Gillespie added. "In several places in the notebook she wrote 'New York, New York.' That's how she wrote New York City or something that sounded like New York City."
TIGHAR has reportedly taken a number of trips to the destination where Earhart likely crashed, but have not had the right equipment to discover any of the remains from Earhart's plane.
On the 80th anniversary of the crash next July, TIGHAR is planning another expedition to Gardner Island. However, this time around, they will be using submarines that are supposed to be the best tools to find any underwater debris.
Do you think Ric Gillespie and TIGHAR are onto something surrounding the mystery of Amelia Earhart's death?
[H/T New York Post, News.com.au]
