New Guinea - Amelia Earhart & Fred Noonan, en route to Howland Island, 2 July 1937

[Richard]

Interesting that in her first letter in the archive, she basically says she knew it was Amelia, but everything seemed fine and she turned the radio down ; she even apologizes for not listening attentively! By the 1962 article, she reports all kinds of details from that signal, and hearing Noonan later on, besides.

Certainly one has to consider all aspects of a witness statement, weighing the amount of time which has passed between the event and their stated recollection of it. The witness might later recall other details of what was heard (or seen). However, when years have passed, memories might tend to fade or become confused with other events. For this reason, the earlier the statement, the more accurate and vivid the memory.

Nina wrote many letters about her experience. Although there are a few minor differences from one letter to another, she seems to be pretty consistent in her basic story.

It should be noted that when Nina was hearing the transmission she believed was from Amelia, news of her disappearance may not yet have reached her. Like watching the news on television today, we are often distracted from a report by every day events in our homes like phone calls, other people talking, etc. In this sense, her statement actually seems more authentic. She later regretted not having taken more attentive notes at the start.

One has to ask - What would she gain by trying to perpetrate a hoax? Did she really hear a broadcast by Amelia Earhart, or was she being fooled by someone else as a hoax? If that were the case, why didn't others also hear it?

Nina Paxton stuck to her transcription of the broadcast which includes Amelia Earhart's OLD CALLSIGN that she had for an earlier plane (Her Lockheed Vega) KHABQ - even though the newspaper "corrected" Nina's transcription in their printed story to make it Amelia's current plane (Lockheed Electra) callsign of KHAQQ.

It is reasonable that Amelia, due to lack of sleep and the stress of a forced landing misspoke and used her old call sign and Nina dutifully wrote down what she heard. Doubtful that Nina would even have known that KHABQ was her old callsign.

There were others who claimed to have heard post crash radio signals from Amelia Earhart. Some were indeed hoaxers, but others seem possible and credible. These stories of Amelia being heard on radios after she went missing were reported as soon as news of her disappearance hit the papers.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Certainly one has to consider all aspects of a witness statement, weighing the amount of time which has passed between the event and their stated recollection of it. The witness might later recall other details of what was heard (or seen). However, when years have passed, memories might tend to fade or become confused with other events. For this reason, the earlier the statement, the more accurate and vivid the memory.

Nina wrote many letters about her experience. Although there are a few minor differences from one letter to another, she seems to be pretty consistent in her basic story.

It should be noted that when Nina was hearing the transmission she believed was from Amelia, news of her disappearance may not yet have reached her. Like watching the news on television today, we are often distracted from a report by every day events in our homes like phone calls, other people talking, etc. In this sense, her statement actually seems more authentic. She later regretted not having taken more attentive notes at the start.

One has to ask - What would she gain by trying to perpetrate a hoax? Did she really hear a broadcast by Amelia Earhart, or was she being fooled by someone else as a hoax? If that were the case, why didn't others also hear it?

Nina Paxton stuck to her transcription of the broadcast which includes Amelia Earhart's OLD CALLSIGN that she had for an earlier plane (Her Lockheed Vega) KHABQ - even though the newspaper "corrected" Nina's transcription in their printed story to make it Amelia's current plane (Lockheed Electra) callsign of KHAQQ.

It is reasonable that Amelia, due to lack of sleep and the stress of a forced landing misspoke and used her old call sign and Nina dutifully wrote down what she heard. Doubtful that Nina would even have known that KHABQ was her old callsign.

There were others who claimed to have heard post crash radio signals from Amelia Earhart. Some were indeed hoaxers, but others seem possible and credible. These stories of Amelia being heard on radios after she went missing were reported as soon as news of her disappearance hit the papers.

Is there any backstory regarding Nina (and perhaps her spouse as well) as active radio aficionados? I guess I just wonder how credible she was observed in her Kentucky environs.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Is there any backstory regarding Nina (and perhaps her spouse as well) as active radio aficionados? I guess I just wonder how credible she was observed in her Kentucky environs.

With a little bit of searching, I guess I can answer my own question....

Prior to my finding the Paxton papers, the handful of known letters Nina's wrote in the mid-1940 were so passionate, I suspect what she said was true. She had no motive to lie; she was educated, married, a registered nurse, caring and had an excellent professional reputation. She had no bone to pick and didn't seek out fame. When I started investigating her background, I discovered Nina died a widow in Ashland, Kentucky on Christmas Day in 1970. She left no family and had few friends. Her husband, a railroad agent, had passed away in 1954. An only son, the one mentioned in the news story, got into one scrape after another until he ended up in prison.
There are well over a hundred letters, some notes, and a few newspaper and magazine clippings making up the Paxton material. The first known letter is dated July 14, 1937 and addressed to the Editor of Time Magazine. Nina continued to write and offer insight into the Earhart disappearance until close to her death. After my review of the Paxton Papers, it's apparent there are a letters and reference notes missing. There is one piece of correspondence from the mid-1940 that speaks despairingly of Amelia's husband. One might wonder how that spat came about.

Nina Paxton

Nina Paxton

tighar.org

 

[Richard]

Amelia Earhart, missing along with her navigator Fred Noonan since 2 July 1937

LINKS:

The Search for Amelia Earhart

10 days, 48 airplanes, 250,000 square miles of ocean.

www.smithsonianmag.com

Remembering two icons in the search for Amelia Earhart

Josephine Akiyama claimed she witnessed Earhart’s capture by the Japanese. Elgen Long said he proved she crashed into the sea.

www.nationalgeographic.com

Naval Aviation and the Search for Amelia Earhart | National Naval Aviation Museum

Naval Aviation played a major role in the wide-ranging but ultimately fruitless search for famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan.

navalaviationmuseum.org

The Reason Why the Search for Amelia Earhart Was Called Off

But now rescuers are back

time.com

 

[StillDiggin]

Huge breakthrough in search for Amelia Earhart's missing plane as downed aircraft seemingly appears on the ocean floor in new SONAR image: Experts are 'intrigued' by impressive clue 87 years after her mysterious disappearance​

• A South Carolina man believes he may have discovered the plane Amelia Earhart was flying when she vanished over the Pacific Ocean in 1937
• Former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer Tony Romeo has captured a sonar image of a plane-shaped object on the ocean floor
• Romeo spent $11 million to fund the trip and buy the high-tech gear needed for the search and plans to return to get more detailed images.
• 

  Amelia Earhart's missing plane seemingly appears in new SONAR image

  A South Carolina man believes he may have discovered the plane Amelia Earhart was flying when she vanished over the Pacific Ocean in 1937.

  www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[HmmMysterious]

I really hope this is finally it. It does have the shape of a plane to me

 

[Sweetluv]

Whether it's Amelia's plane remains to be seen. But, I do agree..it looks like a plane to me too!

 

[rob525]

It does look like it could, at the least, be the same type of plane. The tail appears similar. It looks like the image could show a twin stabilizer. Further, the position of the main wings along the fuselage in relation to the front of the plane appear consistent. The first question I had would be, after 87 year, would the plane be in this, relatively intact, condition?

 

[StillDiggin]

Inside the story of Amelia Earhart's missing plane

Earhart disappeared without a trace at the height of her fame in 1937, on the return leg of her round the world flight over the Pacific Ocean. They were never found and were declared lost at sea.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[rob525]

I was reading some other places and it seems that the plane MAY be in about 16,000 ft. of water (unsubstantiated) which would be cold and I believe oxygen free and could explain why the plane seems to still be in relatively intact condition.

 

[PrairieWind]

Where is this image from? I am not finding a location. Is it near Howland?

 

[HmmMysterious]

Where is this image from? I am not finding a location. Is it near Howland?

This article says its within 100 miles of Howland Island. The expedition is planning to go back to take better images

What happened to Amelia Earhart? Sonar images find what could be plane wreckage in Pacific Ocean

 

[PrairieWind]

This article says its within 100 miles of Howland Island. The expedition is planning to go back to take better images

What happened to Amelia Earhart? Sonar images find what could be plane wreckage in Pacific Ocean

Oh thank you! I missed it. I'm not ready to say it is her plane, but it is very interesting. It would be ironic, after all the other searches, if she did indeed just go into the water near Howland like was originally thought. I always thought that was the most likely scenario.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The most recent group to join the search — a team of underwater archaeologists and marine robotics experts with Deep Sea Vision, an ocean exploration company based in Charleston, South Carolina — says it may have found a clue that could bring some closure to Earhart’s story.

By using sonar imaging, a tool for mapping the ocean floor that uses sound waves to measure the distance from the seabed to the surface, the group has spotted an anomaly in the Pacific Ocean — more than 16,000 feet (4,877 meters) underwater — that resembles a small aircraft. The team believes that anomaly could be a Lockheed 10-E Electra, the 10-passenger plane that Earhart was piloting when she went missing while attempting to fly around the world

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/30/travel/amelia-earhart-missing-plane-pacific-ocean-scn/index.html

 

[Richard]

As others have said, we will have to wait and see. It seems like every year or so another story comes out claiming to have found her or her plane.

The Lockheed Electra 10 was a successful design which led to many other follow-on models. Even Japan bought many model 14's and even manufactured their own version of the plane.

 

[Richard]

The first of the Lockheed twin-tails to enter military service was this Model 10A designated XR2O-1 with BuNo 0267. The Electra, assigned to transport the Secretary of the Navy, displayed his flag on its engine nacelles. U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE PHOTO ARCHIVE

Lockheed aircraft similar in design and look to Amelia Earhart's Model 10 were used by the US Navy throughout World War II in the Pacific and other theaters. Here is an article about them...

LINK:

https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2010/june/lockheeds-twin-tails

------------------------------------



The Japanese IAAF Kawasaki Ki-56 transport plane of WW II was a close copy of the Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra.

LINK:

Kawasaki Ki-56 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[arielilane]

@WFLAJB

NOON STREAM: Has #AmeliaEarhart’s plane actually been found? Special guests Mark Martin & @DeepSeaVision’s Romeo brothers, the team behind the discovery, join me for a live interactive Q&A.12ET Livestream Link: https://youtube.com/live/L2aaQbDyZE8?si=pZXZ9AqfHOq2_12mPOLL: Vote Now at http://heyjb.live

https://twitter.com/x/status/1752710883636031892

 

[cenazoic]

Aren’t there, if not confirmed, at least strongly credible transmissions from AE for several days after 2 July? Which would indicate she was with the plane, making its location 100 miles from Howland unlikely.

I’ve also read the criticism that if it is a plane, it appears to be a swept-wing craft, which the Electra was not.

I only have a superficial understanding of the deep details of AE’s disappearance, so possibly I’m way off base here!

 

[PrairieWind]

Aren’t there, if not confirmed, at least strongly credible transmissions from AE for several days after 2 July? Which would indicate she was with the plane, making its location 100 miles from Howland unlikely.

I’ve also read the criticism that if it is a plane, it appears to be a swept-wing craft, which the Electra was not.

I only have a superficial understanding of the deep details of AE’s disappearance, so possibly I’m way off base here!

There are claims from people in the US, that say they heard transmissions from her for a couple days after her disappearance. There is much discussion as to whether they are credible or not. You can decide for yourself on those.
The sonar image that has been released shows what it shows. Pretty grainy and from my understanding this is very deep. So I don't know how reliable the image is in regards to showing the objects true shape etc. If it is a plane (which it appears to be).

 

[texaslb218]

Found your link and am online waiting! For my age generation, after Titanic was found, this is the greatest unsolved mystery for me.