to form an opinion from evidenceĬonvince – v. always behaving or happening in a similar to say or show that something may not be true or correctĬonsistent – adj. a careful study of something to learn about its parts, what they do, and how they are related to each otherĬhallenge – v. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. It claimed that she lived under another name in the United States.īryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse and other sources. Still another rumor claimed she was freed after the war ended. This rumor, or similar ones, said she died there. The attack led to America’s involvement in World War II.Īnother report suggested Japanese forces or civilians had rescued Earhart and taken her to Japan. In 1941, Japan bombed the American military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Roosevelt had asked her to observe Japanese activity in the Pacific.Īt the time, U.S. The story claimed then-President Franklin D. One unconfirmed report said Earhart had made her final flight while working as an American spy. (AP Photo)īut observers have long shared rumors about what really happened. Searchers found no other explanation.Īmelia Earhart, 40, stands next to a Lockheed Electra 10E, before her last flight in 1937 from Oakland, Calif., bound for Honolulu on the first leg of her record-setting attempt to circumnavigate the world westward along the Equator. But Earhart and Noonan never arrived there.įlight experts decided the plane must have crashed in the sea after using up all its fuel. The next goal of the flight was to reach Howland Island - about 4,000 kilometers to the east. The plane had left from what is now Papua New Guinea. He says that until new evidence is presented that the bones are not those of Amelia Earhart, “the most convincing argument is that they are hers.'Įver since Earhart’s plane disappeared in 1937, people have sought to learn what happened to the plane and its crew. “The bones are consistent with Earhart in all respects we know or can reasonably infer,” he wrote in the study.ĭuring his research, Jantz compared the bone measurements to photographs and examinations of Earhart’s clothing.

Jantz said his study provides evidence that “strongly supports” the bones belonged to Earhart. He is an anthropologist from the University of Tennessee. (AP Photo, File)īut the new study – appearing in the publication Forensic Anthropology – challenges those findings. Those researchers said their findings confirmed the earlier conclusion – the bones did not belong to Earhart or Noonan.įamed aviator Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, pose in this file photo in front of their twin-engine Lockheed Electra in Los Angeles at the end of May, 1937. In 2015, researchers completed a new analysis based on the measurements. They showed the size of the skull and of bones from the arm and leg. All that survived were seven measurements. But a scientist who took measurements at the time concluded that they belonged to a man who did not match the description of Noonan. Some believed the bones belonged to Earhart. In 1940, a group of bones was discovered on the Pacific island of Nikumaroro. Her navigator, Fred Noonan, was also on the plane that disappeared. At the time, Earhart was attempting to become the first woman to fly around the world. She disappeared in 1937 over the southern Pacific Ocean. If true, the findings would end a long debate over what happened to Earhart. A new study suggests bones found on a Pacific Island in 1940 were likely those of famous American pilot Amelia Earhart.

Amelia earhart found