Vanished!

On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart was on her way to making history. She was about three-quarters of the way through a journey that would make her the first woman to fly around the world. But she never made it. Her plane vanished that day, and Earhart was never heard from again. 

More than 85 years later, exactly what happened to the famous pilot remains one of history’s greatest mysteries. But we could be one step closer to solving it. A group of explorers say they may have found Earhart’s missing plane.

It was July 2, 1937. Amelia Earhart was on her way to making history. She was about three-quarters of the way through a great journey. It would make her the first woman to fly around the world. But she never made it. Her plane vanished that day. Earhart was never heard from again.

More than 85 years have passed since then. What happened to the famous pilot remains one of history’s greatest mysteries. But we could be one step closer to solving it. A group of explorers say they may have found Earhart’s missing plane.

Earhart was a pioneer in flight at a time when few women flew airplanes. In 1932, she became the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. 

“She was one of the most famous people of the time, kind of like Taylor Swift is today,” says Dorothy Cochrane. She’s an aviation expert at the National Air and Space Museum. 

Earhart wanted to circle the globe. In May 1937, she and navigator Fred Noonan took off from Oakland, California. By early July, they had completed much of their journey. They had reached the island of New Guinea in the Pacific Ocean. Their next stop would be more than 2,500 miles away on Howland Island.

But something went terribly wrong. The sky was cloudy. Earhart and Noonan had trouble spotting the tiny island. After about 20 hours of flying, the plane’s fuel was running low. Earhart sent urgent radio messages to a U.S. Coast Guard ship. Her final message was received at about 8:43 a.m. on July 2. Earhart’s disappearance shocked the world.

“The press was covering the flight, and big crowds greeted her everywhere,” Cochrane says. “Then she was just gone.”

Earhart was a pioneer in flight at a time when few women flew airplanes. In 1932, she became the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

“She was one of the most famous people of the time, kind of like Taylor Swift is today,” says Dorothy Cochrane. She’s an aviation expert at the National Air and Space Museum.

Earhart wanted to circle the globe. In May 1937, she and navigator Fred Noonan took off from Oakland, California. By early July, they had completed much of their journey. They had reached the island of New Guinea in the Pacific Ocean. Their next stop was on Howland Island. It was more than 2,500 miles away.

But something went terribly wrong. The sky was cloudy. Earhart and Noonan had trouble spotting the tiny island. They had been flying for about 20 hours. The plane’s fuel was running low. Earhart sent urgent radio messages to a U.S. Coast Guard ship. Her final message was received at about 8:43 a.m. on July 2. Earhart’s disappearance shocked the world.

“The press was covering the flight, and big crowds greeted her everywhere,” Cochrane says. “Then she was just gone.”

Search teams spent two weeks looking for Earhart, Noonan, or their plane. No one knew exactly where they had disappeared. Searchers covered about 250,000 square miles, an area about the size of Texas. They had no luck.

Over the years, people have come up with many theories about what happened to the pilot (see sidebar). But Cochrane and many other experts believe there is only one explanation—the plane ran out of fuel, crashed into the ocean, and sank. 

Still, the mystery has led people to search for signs of Earhart for decades. In January, an underwater exploration group called Deep Sea Vision announced that it may have located her plane. 

Using sonar and an unmanned underwater vehicle, the crew searched more than 5,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean floor near Howland Island. They spotted an object they believe is shaped like the long-lost plane.

While some experts say the object could be Earhart’s plane, most aren’t convinced just yet. The Deep Sea Vision team plans to investigate further. It could be years before the crew proves anything for sure. 

In the meantime, the mystery of Amelia Earhart lives on.

“It’s a great mystery,” Cochrane says. “Someday we’ll find something—I’m hopeful.”

Search teams spent two weeks looking for Earhart, Noonan, or their plane. No one knew exactly where they had disappeared. Searchers covered about 250,000 square miles. That’s an area about the size of Texas. They had no luck.

People have come up with many theories about what happened to the pilot over the years (see sidebar). But Cochrane and many other experts believe there is only one explanation. They think the plane ran out of fuel, crashed into the ocean, and sank.

Still, the mystery has led people to search for signs of Earhart for decades. Deep Sea Vision is an underwater exploration group. The group announced in January that it may have located her plane.

The crew used sonar and an unmanned underwater vehicle. They searched more than 5,000 square miles of the Pacific Ocean floor near Howland Island. And they spotted an object they believe is shaped like the long-lost plane.

Some experts say the object could be Earhart’s plane. But most aren’t convinced just yet. The Deep Sea Vision team plans to investigate further. It could be years before the crew proves anything for sure.

In the meantime, the mystery of Amelia Earhart lives on.

“It’s a great mystery,” Cochrane says. “Someday we’ll find something—I’m hopeful.”