At 34 years of age, Ms. Earhart took off from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, in her Lockheed Vega 5B with the latest copy of a local newspaper to confirm the date of her flight. The original destination as set by Ms. Earhart was Paris,France, to emulate Charles Lindbergh's solo flight. However, after 14 hours, 56 minutes of strong northerly winds, icy conditions and mechanical problems, Ms. Earhart landed in a field at Culmore, north of Derry in Northern Ireland, witnessed by two local men.
A small museum, the Amelia Earhart Centre, is now built on this site.
As a result of this transatlantic flight, Ms. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S Distinguished Flying Cross.
Not only did Ms. Earhart break and set multiple flying records, she was also visiting faculty member at the Purdue University aviation department in 1935, to counsel women on careers and help inspire other with her love of aviation. She wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and played a critical role in the establishment of The Ninety-Nines, an organistaion for female pilots.
During an attempt to make a circumnavigational flight of the globe in 1937, Ms. Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean.
To this day, fascination with her disappearence is at the heart of many conspiricy theories and speculations.
Image available: http://news.discovery.com/adventure/amelia-earhart-island-artifacts.html
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