Amelia Earhart came to Hawaiʻi twice (December 27, 1934 to January 11, 1935 (to make her record flight from Hawaiʻi to the continent) and March 17 through March 20, 1937 (as part of the first plan to fly around-the-world.))
“Over the Christmas holiday (1934,) Amelia Earhart and George Putnam, along with Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mantz, arrived in Honolulu on December 27, having sailed on the Matson liner SS Lurline. Amelia’s Lockheed Vega was secured on the ocean liner’s deck. The group spent two weeks vacationing in Hawaiʻi.” She visited Hilo and planted a banyan tree on “Hilo Walk of Fame.”
Five days after planting the banyan tree, she took off from Wheeler Field, Oʻahu and after 18-hours and 15-minutes, Amelia and “Old Bessie, the Fire Horse,” made a perfect landing at Oakland Airport at 1:31, January 12, 1935, she was engulfed by a cheering crowd of 5,000-enthusiastic supporters.
It was another record flight for Amelia – the very first person, man or woman, to fly solo between Hawaiʻi and the American continent and the first civilian airplane to carry a two-way radio. (Plymate)
A commemorative plaque to honor her trans-pacific solo flight was put up on Diamond Head Road. Documents of that flight were placed in a copper box and inserted into the plaque’s base on March 6. It was dedicated on March 14, 1937.
The last Hawaiʻi visit was part of her planned flight around-the-world. She assembled a team to make an around-the-world flight (navigators Fred Noonan and Captain Harry Manning, as well as technical advisor/assistant navigator Paul Mantz.) It wouldn’t be the first around-the world flight, but it would be the longest, taking an equatorial route.
They set out from Oakland on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17, 1937) and headed for Hawaiʻi on the first leg of their journey. After 15-hours and 47-minutes they landed at Wheeler Field. (From there they would travel on to Howland Island in the South Pacific, and then on to Australia.) The plane was moved to Luke Field on Ford Island for take-off on the next leg.
“At 3:45 am, March 20, 1937, we opened the Hangar and placed the airplane on the Line. Mrs. Putnam and crew arrived about 4:30 am. Mr. Mantz requested an additional seventy-five gallons of gasoline, making a total of 590 gallons furnished.”
“At 4:45 am Press representatives arrived and established themselves in my office without advance notice. As soon as this was brought to my attention I notified these gentlemen that all telephone charges were to be reversed and positively not charged to me or to the Government. …”
“At 5:00 am Mr. Mantz thoroughly inspected the airplane, tested the engines, and shut them off. The flood lights were turned on and Mrs. Putnam inspected the runway from the cockpit of the airplane.”
“A light rain during the night had wet the runway. The lights were turned off and Mr. Noonan and Mr. Manning boarded the airplane. Mrs. Putnam [Amelia Earhart] started the engines at 5:30 am and at 5:40 am taxied Northeast down the Navy side of the runway to the lower end accompanied by Mr. Young and Mr. Mantz on the ground with flashlights.”
“After Mrs. Putnam had taxied about one-third of the way down the runway a Grumman Amphibian taxied out from the Navy Hangars and followed her airplane down the Field. …”
“The sky toward Honolulu was dark and Koolau Range was barely discernable against the background of dark clouds. Off Barbers Point, however, the sky was surprisingly bright with good visibility. Smoke from two dredges at the mouth of Pearl Harbor was plainly noticeable. A scattered broken ceiling was perhaps 3,000 feet.”
“General Yount assured himself that the crash truck and ambulance were placed on the alert. Mrs. Putnam made a 180 degree left turn at the far end of the runway and momentarily halted the airplane on the center line of the runway.”
“The air being still, there was but the usual lag in sound travel and as soon as the airplane moved forward I heard the steady synchronous roar characteristic of full throttle application.” (Statement of First Lieutenant Donald D. Arnold, Air Corps, Engineering Officer, Hawaiian Air Deport, Luke Field; TIGHAR)
“At 5:53 am on March 20, 1937, she began the take-off roll. The twin-engine plane gained momentum. Suddenly, at the 1,000 foot mark the right tire blew. The strain broke completely the right landing gear sending the Electra severely to one side.”
“Forced into a hard dip, the right wing was badly damaged. One gas tank was punctured, allowing fuel to spew onto the terrain. The right engine case was cracked badly and the rear end of the fuselage torn and dented.”
“Cool-headed as ever, Miss Earhart and her flying companions climbed unceremoniously out of the aircraft They were unhurt, thanks to the pilot’s expert handling of her controls. Ten seconds more and the plane would have been airborne, lamented the female air-hero!” (Hovart)
“I heard her say to the crew, ‘The ship functioned perfectly at the start. As it gained speed the right wing dropped down and the ship seemed to pull to the right.’”
“‘I eased off the left engine and the ship started a long persistent left turn and ended up where it is now. It was all over instantly. The first thing I thought of was the right oleo or the right tire letting go. The way the ship pulled it was probably a flat tire.’” (Statement of First Lieutenant Donald D. Arnold; TIGHAR)
“On Saturday morning, March 20, I was standing at the edge of the runway approximately half way between each end with a 1 qt. fire extinguisher on the alert in case of an accident.”
“The motors on the Earhart plane sounded as if they were opened up to about half throttle. The plane proceeded up the runway approximately 100 yards when both motors were given full throttle.”
“Very shortly thereafter I noticed a slight tendency to turn to the right, immediately the motors sounded as if one had been slightly reduced in speed.”
“The plane began a turn to the left which was very pronounced and at an angle approximately 45 degrees to parallel with the runway both motors were turned off, the plane proceeded approximately 10 feet and started to turn in a very short circle, the landing gear collapsed and the plane slid backwards a short distance. Then I immediately ran in to render aid.” (Eyewitnees account by EL Heidlebaugh; TIGHAR)
“Within six hours after the crackup, Miss Earhart was aboard the Malolo heading for San Francisco. ‘I’ll be back,’ she declared determinedly.” (Hovart)
“On May 21, 1937, Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan began a round-the-world flight, beginning in Oakland, California, and traveling east in a twin-engine Lockheed Electra. They departed Miami on June 1 and reached Lae, New Guinea, on June 29, having flown 21 of 30 days and covered 22,000 miles. They left Lae on July 2 for their next refueling stop, Howland Island.” (Smithsonian)
“The flight was expected to be arduous, especially since the tiny coral atoll was difficult to locate. To help with navigation, two brightly lit US ships were stationed to mark the route. Earhart was also in intermittent radio contact with the Itasca, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter near Howland.”
“Late in the journey, Earhart radioed that the plane was running out of fuel. About an hour later she announced, “We are running north and south.” That was the last transmission received by the Itasca. The plane was believed to have gone down some 100 miles from the island, and an extensive search was undertaken to find Earhart and Noonan.”
“However, on July 19, 1937, the operation was called off, and the pair was declared lost at sea.” (Britannica)
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