The US National Archives on Nov 14 released several batches of records related to the 1937 disappearance of famed aviator Amelia Earhart over the Pacific, following US President Donald Trump’s recent order to declassify and release all such material held by the government.
The release of 4,624 pages of documents, including logbooks of US military vessels involved in the air and sea search for Earhart, was announced by National Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard.
Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, were last seen taking off in her twin-engine Lockheed Electra airplane on July 2, 1937, from Papua New Guinea en route to Howland Island, some 4,000km away, during an attempt to fly around the world.
Radio contact with the plane was lost hours later after Earhart, 39, reported running low on fuel.
Enduring mystery
A massive naval search, the most extensive ever at the time, was unsuccessful. Earhart’s fate remains one of the most enduring mysteries of the past 88 years.
The Trump administration’s sudden interest in Earhart, and the President’s Sept 26 order to declassify and release records about her, came as he faced growing criticism for withholding files related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Hellbound and Down 