Her story has become the stuff of legend, but could a newly discovered photo of female aviator Amelia Earhart finally put to rest the questions surrounding her disappearance?
Here's what we know about Earhart's disappearance, according to her official biography: She and her co-pilot Fred Noonan took off on July 2, 1937, at 10 a.m. from Lae, New Guinea. They were on their way to Howland Island, 2,556 miles away. They took everything that was not essential from the plane to make room for extra fuel for the Lockheed Electra. The island is a mile and a half long and a half-mile wide.
According to AmeliaEarhart.com, the pair encountered overcast skies and rain showers, despite weather forecasts that predicted clear weather. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Itasca was following Earhart and Noonan's flight path. Communications between the pilot and Itasca were broken up by static. At one point the Itasca received a message from Earhart, "We must be on you, but we cannot see you. Fuel is running low. Been unable to reach you by radio. We are flying at 1,000 feet." Her last transmission to the Itasca was "We are running north and south." That was received by the ship at 8:45 a.m. July 3.
No official sign of Earhart’s and Noonan’s fate has been found.
There have been claims of airplane wreckage and even remains that could match the famed pilots, but they have not been confirmed to be linked to Earhart or Noonan.
Now, the History channel is claiming it has a photo, discovered in storage of the National Archives, that show both Earhart and Noonan on a dock in the Marshall Islands.
The photo shows, what some say, is a Caucasian man and woman, on the dock and captured by the Japanese, "The Today Show" reported. The photo dates to 1937. Using facial recognition, an expert in the field says that it is likely that Noonan is standing on the left of the photo and that Earhart is sitting, with her back to the camera, looking at a ship. The expert compared Noonan's nose, teeth and hairline to make the determination on the man in the image. He used Earhart's torso measurements to compare her with the supposed woman.
The Japanese ship, the Koshu, was photographed towing something that appears to be a plane that has the same measurements as Earhart's. "The Today Show" reported that locals at the time said that they saw the plane crash and that the Koshu picked up both the flyers and the plane.
History will air "Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence" Sunday, July 9 at 9 p.m.
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