Amelia Earhart was a pioneering female aviator who began her aviation career in the 1920s and achieved several historic firsts. In 1928, she became the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean as a passenger, and in 1932, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Her next major goal was to become the first woman to circumnavigate the globe by airplane. However, Earhart never completed this mission and mysteriously disappeared.
After extensive preparations, Earhart partnered with experienced navigator Fred Noonan for long-range flights using a modified twin-engine Lockheed Electra. They planned a route of approximately 47,000 kilometers near the equator, with over 20 planned stops worldwide. Each stop involved careful planning for fuel, technical checks, weather, customs, and necessary permits. Despite numerous technical and communication challenges, preparations for the world tour were executed at the highest level possible with the technology of the time, funded by sponsors.
The world tour was initially planned to depart westward from Oakland, California, but a mechanical issue with the aircraft caused a delay. The tour officially began eastward from Miami on June 1, 1937. The planned route included:
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The Caribbean and South America
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The Atlantic Ocean
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Africa
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The Indian Subcontinent and South Asia
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Southeast Asia and the Indonesian Archipelago
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Australia and Oceania
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The Pacific Ocean
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Howland Island
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Honolulu, Hawaii
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Oakland, California
During the tour, the Atlantic Ocean was crossed on June 7, reaching what is now Pakistan on June 15, Singapore on June 21, and Lae, Papua New Guinea, on June 29. Despite numerous challenges, the journey proceeded successfully for about a month.
However, during the Pacific crossing from Lae to Howland Island, Earhart and Noonan lost contact with the aircraft on July 2, 1937. Despite efforts to communicate, they could not be reached, and the largest search-and-rescue operation in U.S. history was launched. 66 planes and 9 ships searched for Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan along the planned world tour route.
Despite extensive efforts, no trace of Earhart or Noonan was found, and search operations ended on July 19, 1937. The aircraft was declared lost at sea, and Amelia Earhart’s official date of death was recorded as January 5, 1939.
The final stages of the tour, including Howland Island, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Oakland, California, were never completed. As a result, the flight is not officially recognized as the first global circumnavigation by a woman. The disappearance remains one of aviation’s most mysterious cases. While the aircraft has never been recovered after more than 100 years, some ocean searches have reported potential aircraft findings. However, none of the recovered materials have been conclusively linked to Earhart’s world tour plane, leaving the mystery unsolved.
Amelia Earhart remains a trailblazer for women in aviation, celebrated for her pioneering achievements. In the United States, Amelia Earhart Airport in Kansas and the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum, opened in 2023 at the same airport, continue to honor her legacy.