This disappearance of Amelia Earhart and Frank Noonan in 1937 remains one of the enduring mysteries of the 20th century but researchers may have made a major leap forward in solving with the discovery of the innocuous looking piece of sheet aluminum below. Recently discovered photos of the plane suggest that the aluminum was actually a patch made and installed on the airplane when Earhart and Noonan made a stop in Miami before heading west and into oblivion after leaving Los Angeles. The aluminum was found on the tiny, uninhabited Gardner Island in the Pacific Ocean. This island is hundreds of miles off of where they should have been but the island was charted at the time of her disappearance so it is possible that after realizing that they were in trouble, Earhart and Noonan made the decision to make it to some scrap of land and put the plane down. What happened next is anyone’s guess but the discovery of the aluminum suggests a creepier story than simply “they crashed into the ocean”. Some researchers now believe that Earhart and Noonan survived their water/coral reef landing and lived as castaways on this island for as long as they could before ultimately perishing due to lack of food or water (likely lack of fresh water). That’s a pretty terrifying prospect.
The aluminum shard (shown below) was discovered on a 1991 expedition to Gardner Island (one of nearly a dozen made since the disappearance of the plane in 1937). At the time, bone fragments were also discovered but we’re not sure anything has ever been done to identify them. Gardner Island is (and we’re not making this up) inhabited by a giant breed of crab and some suspect that the bodies of Earhart and Noonan was broken up, consumed, or otherwise moved by these science fiction movie sized creatures. The story just gets scarier and scarier when you start to put yourself in their place (if they actually did live through a potential crash).
In the second photo down you can see two openings on the side of the Earhart plane. One of those openings was covered (researchers think) with the aluminum piece below. The rivet spacing and everything else matches the photos that were being analyzed after the patchwork was discovered. There was a special window in the side of the fuselage that the pair wanted covered over. We’re not sure why but the repair surely would have been made in this fashion. Ric Gillespie is the guy behind all of this. Gillespie is one of the foremost experts on the disappearance and has been trying to solve the mystery for decades. He found the aluminum piece back in the 1990s and has been doggedly trying to prove that it is part of the plane since then. He feels nearly 100% sure that it is.
Gillespie is planning on another expedition to Gardner Island in June of 2015 to follow up on some leads. He believes that the airplane is 600ft down in the ocean. There was some sort of “sonar anomaly” the last time he was out there so the plan is to explore the potential wreck with a remote control submersible. If he actually finds the plane it will be one of the more stunning conclusions to a mystery in the history of the modern world.
We’ll keep you posted on this one because it seems like a definitive answer to the question of “What happened to Amelia Earhart and Frank Noonan?” is closer than ever.
Read more here at the WashingtonPost.com
Earhart was the epitome of the ” old v. bold ” pilot.
She pranged quite a few of them. There were far better female pilots of her era. Still, her husband knew how to get publicity, and from that, of course, revenue. Plus, he got her out of town for long periods of time…..
The aluminum is just another piece in the puzzle. They found her makeup compact, a knife, camp sites, and otehr artifacts on that island…human reamains were found as well but were lost by some dumb schmuck. The crabs there are a real mofo, they will try to eat you while you sleep…saw a video of them devour food in an instant…wouldnt take them long to eat and drag parts all over the place….
The documentary on the expeditions to Gardner Island show just how ‘ frightening ‘ those crabs really are .. as well as the level of destruction they are capable of [ the film show them separating and devouring an entire pig ]
I’ve thought since day one these guys were on the right track .. and hopefully their next trip over to explore the ocean floor just off shore some 600 ft below where the remains of the plane are thought to be will prove them right once and for all
And yes .. Amelia was definitely more hype than reality . But this is more about the incompetence of the Military and their search and rescue efforts back then than any of the mistakes Earhart might of made … starting with keeping Noonan on despite his obvious drinking problem
I saw that documentry…the crabs were something right out of your nightmares…with all the circumstantial evidence they’ve found, it is …at least to me…where they met their end…How is another question….
Do a Google search for “coconut crabs” to see what he’s talking about. They are HUGE bastards that get their name from being able to pop open coconuts with their claws. Nightmare fuel for sure if you’re exposed to them on a deserted island with no shelter.
I find it amazing that people are still looking for them.
Makes me wonder who funds these things and why?
Individuals and private donors along with the expeditions leader . The point being .. finally getting the story straight as to what really happened rather than the decades of speculations , myths and rumors that have surrounded this event for decades
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB_lhKKzeZM