Amelia Earhart’s Reckless Final Flights

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This is a really good read. I never knew the story as told here.

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“Sparks flew, a wing bent, and the landing gear snapped off as the silver Lockheed Electra 10-E plane smashed into the runway at Luke Field, outside Honolulu. The pilot’s only stroke of luck was that the aircraft, which contained nearly a thousand gallons of fuel, didn’t explode.”


www.newyorker.com

Amelia Earhart’s Reckless Final Flights

The aviator’s publicity-mad husband, George Palmer Putnam, kept pushing her to risk her life for the sake of fame.
www.newyorker.com www.newyorker.com
 
I sense a very 2025 bias to place blame on evil Putnam.
 
Her contributions to her own so-called legacy, are more a product of cunning PR than anything resembling bona fides. In fairness, I've met many tokens and many more vanity-credential collectors in this line of work. Talent-adjacent hacks who lack the work longevity to back up the claims they monetize, but who love to write books and go on speaking tours about it. She's not unique in this regard. I wouldn't go get killed over the whole shtick, but that's ego for ya. don't cancel me. :fingerwag:

As to blaming the paper(that wasn't a sincere marriage by her own admission) husband ? Nope, homegirl had plenty of agency. don't cancel me. :cornut:
 
hindsight2020 said:
As to blaming the paper(that wasn't a sincere marriage by her own admission) husband ? Nope, homegirl had plenty of agency. don't cancel me. :cornut:
Click to expand...
In any case, given the nature of her last flight I would tend to put more responsibility at the feet of Noonan. Unless it was a true crash (unlikely), her disappearance was a navigation issue, right?
 
Spoke with the guy behind this website a while back. He has some interesting theories, main one in the link below. Wrote a couple books on the topic, might be worth a read. But yeah, she was never really qualified to fly the Electra or any other twin.
They didn't really know how to operate the DF equipment, and the HF receiver antenna was seen to be broken while the plane departed for the final leg.

The Earhart Project

This page contains all of the links and basic information about the Earhart Project.
tighar.org
 
When I'm asked to name an early female pioneer of flight, I always answer with Hanna Reitsch. She may have been more than a little nuts, but without question she had some flying skills.
 
StraightnLevel said:
In any case, given the nature of her last flight I would tend to put more responsibility at the feet of Noonan. Unless it was a true crash (unlikely), her disappearance was a navigation issue, right?
Click to expand...
Seems crazy to fly halfway around the world with a radio out (blown fuse) or fly over the ocean with a broken/missing antenna. PIC shouldn’t have taken off, navigator shouldn’t have gotten in the plane. Seems like they are both at fault
 
StraightnLevel said:
In any case, given the nature of her last flight I would tend to put more responsibility at the feet of Noonan. Unless it was a true crash (unlikely), her disappearance was a navigation issue, right?
Click to expand...
Years ago, when Judy Rice was planning a round-the-world flight, she introduced me to her copilot/navigator, Fred.
"Noonan?" I asked.

They didn't find that funny.
 
“Fred” made me a lot of money in that era as a breeder of registered basset hounds. The price the broker paid for them went from $25/pup to over $275/pup when that movie came out (and stayed there for years). It was a real windfall, I was a kid and had 4 dogs (3 female, one male) averaging 48 puppies a year. A few expenses for dog food and shots, but what better job for a little kid than playing with his dogs and raising puppies. It was darn good money for the time and let me buy my first car and motorcycle in cash when I got older and still have a healthy bank account after.
 
Albany Tom said:
When I'm asked to name an early female pioneer of flight, I always answer with Hanna Reitsch. She may have been more than a little nuts, but without question she had some flying skills.
Click to expand...

She did indeed, but my pick is Jackie Cochran. Fantastic skills and accomplishments without Reitsch’s nuttiness and baggage.
 
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