The disappearance of aviator Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan on July 2, 1937, remains one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century. The pair was last known to be near Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe.
It was the longest leg of their journey, and their final radio transmissions indicated they were low on fuel and having trouble locating Howland Island, where a U.S. Coast Guard cutter was waiting to guide them in. A final garbled message was received at 8:43 am.
However, the aircraft never arrived at Howland Island.
New Clues – But No Answers
In the nearly nine decades since, endless rumors, theories, and speculation have been presented. New clues could ignite even more theories, as the United States National Archives published a batch of newly declassified government records on Earhart.
In September, President Donald Trump ordered the declassification and release of all U.S. government files related to Earhart’s final flight. The National Archives website was updated earlier this month, and currently consists of 4,624 pages (53 PDF files).
“Delivering on President Trump’s promise, the release of the Amelia Earhart files will shine light on the disappearance of a beloved American aviator who has been at the center of public inquisition for decades,” said Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard in a statement.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we will continue the work to end the weaponization of intelligence and instead focus the Intelligence Community on finding the truth and telling the truth, and ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people,” Gabbard added.
The files include general correspondence, the U.S. Navy report on the search for Earhart, and information on the flight from New Guinea to Howland Island. The search spanned 16 days with the battleship USS Colorado (BB-45) and aircraft carrier USS Lexington (CV-2) taking part, covering nearly 250,000 square miles of the Pacific.
PBY-1 seaplanes searched a 25,000 square-mile region of the ocean daily during the efforts.
The files also contained potential landing sites, maps, messages, and other documents that included details on the weather and theories.
It was further announced that as various U.S. agencies identify records related to Earhart’s disappearance, these records will be declassified as applicable and transferred to the National Archives for digitization and upload for public release.
A Mystery With Endless Theories
Earhart first won fame in 1932 after becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. She and Noonan took off on May 20, 1937, from Oakland, CA, hoping to become the first woman to fly around the world.
The most widely accepted theory is that Earhart’s plane ran out of fuel, and she and Noonan perished after ditching into the sea. Another suggests that the pair crashed on Gardner Island (Nikumaroro) and died as castaways, where bone fragments similar to Earhart’s were found.
Researchers have also pointed to photos that may have shown an object in the water near the island, but modern efforts have found nothing.
A less-supported theory suggests they were captured by Japanese forces in the Pacific, held prisoner – possibly on the island of Saipan – and were later executed as spies.
The Bigger Mystery – Why Were Documents Classified?
The release of files may not solve the mystery, simply because it is unlikely they’ll shed any additional light on the aviator’s disappearance.
Earhart’s disappearance is a topic that likely won’t go away anytime soon, even if files fail to offer fresh insight. Why have the files remained classified?
“Earhart’s plane disappeared in 1937,” wrote Patrick Biltgen, author and data scientist, in a post on LinkedIn. “What could possibly be classified from before World War II?”
The same question had been asked on social media, including on Sub-Reddit groups related to Earhart. There is consensus that the aircraft used in the search may have been classified, but that wouldn’t explain why the records had to be kept sealed for decades.
USS Lexington was even sunk in WWII, so there were hardly any secrets that could have threatened the carrier!
Biltgen suggested that the Naval communications could have been the issue, but added, “I hope we’re not using cryptologic methods from the 1930s in the 2020s.”
The data scientist further speculated that it may be a procedural issue.
“While it’s true that policy says that government secrets are released due to the content of those documents not their chronological age, it seems unreasonable that these documents have been held in secret archives for almost a century… and also that no other President has had the idea to release them,” Biltgen continued.
Many documents are scheduled for automatic declassification after 10 or 25 years; even as others have exemptions. What is noteworthy in this case is that many Manhattan Project files, the program that led to the development of the atomic bomb, have been released, whereas the disappearance of Earhart was not, at least until this month.
Perhaps next, the remaining files about Jimmy Hoffa will be released. After all, his might be the second-most-infamous disappearance of the 20th century.
