"Declassify and Release All Government Records"
U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the release of all government records related to Amelia Earhart (1897-1937), the aviator who disappeared 88 years ago during her attempt to fly around the world. Earhart was a legendary pilot who, in 1928, became the first woman to successfully cross the Atlantic Ocean.
According to Yonhap News on September 27, President Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social, stating, "Her disappearance, which occurred almost 90 years ago, has attracted the attention of millions," and added, "I am instructing my administration to declassify and release all government records related to Earhart, her final flight, and anything associated with her."
He went on to describe Earhart as "an aviation pioneer, the first woman to complete a solo transatlantic flight, and a trailblazer in many other areas of aviation," adding, "She disappeared while attempting to become the first woman to fly around the world. Before vanishing without warning, she had completed about three-quarters of her journey."
Earhart, who was from Kansas, was a legendary pilot who, in 1932, became the first woman to complete a solo transatlantic flight and set a record for the fastest crossing. She was nicknamed the 'First Lady of the Sky,' and her immense popularity led to a trend of naming newborn girls 'Amelia' at the time.
Earhart continued her adventurous pursuits with the goal of flying around the world. On July 2, 1937, at the age of forty, she disappeared while flying along the equatorial route with navigator Fred Noonan. She had departed from New Guinea and was heading toward her next destination, Howland Island. In her final radio transmission, she reportedly said, "We are running out of fuel and cannot see land."
Afterward, President Roosevelt ordered a massive search operation. An unprecedented large-scale search scoured the South Pacific, but neither any trace of her nor any wreckage of the aircraft was ever found. Amelia was declared dead in 1939, two years after her disappearance.
In 2012, a new expedition was launched to revisit her disappearance and search for clues. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) announced that, using forensic photographic analysis, they had discovered objects resembling aircraft landing gear and wheels on the shore of an island in the South Pacific.
In 2014, Time magazine selected her disappearance as one of the "Six Greatest Aircraft Disappearances in the World."
Meanwhile, a variety of books chronicling her life have been published. In 2009, the film "Amelia" was released. Earhart also appears in a flight suit in the comedy film "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian."
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