Study makes sensational claim about one of biggest aviation mysteries, and it changes everything

The biggest aviation mystery might not have ever been one had someone answered when Amelia Earhart sent multiple distress signals. According to one study conducted by The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), Earhart continued sending messages from the ground after her flight came down and presumably vanished. "Amelia Earhart did not simply vanish on July 2, 1937. Radio distress calls believed to have been sent from the missing plane dominated the headlines and drove much of the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy search," NBC News quoted TIGHAR's Executive Director Ric Gillespie as saying. The study adds that her aircraft was on land and her in-flight message wasn't the last one she sent out. "The results of the study suggest that the aircraft was on land and on its wheels for several days following the disappearance," it states. If the study is true, it means that Earhart didn't exactly vanish off the face of Earth, but she was telling everyone her location for days. Apparently, someone didn't respond.

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De-classified documents show she sent radio intercepts

Netizens are shocked by the revelations, although the study could have its share of errors. However, what lends credibility to the TIGHAR claim are the declassified documents linked to her disappearance, which mention that "apparently reliable radio intercepts" were recorded and showed that the plane was for 281 miles north of Howland. The US government released over 4,600 pages of declassified documents regarding Earhart’s disappearance after an order by President Donald Trump in September 2025. People cannot believe that no one acted despite the numerous radio messages she sent. Some think it was an apparently sexist move to create fear in women's hearts about getting too adventurous. A user wrote, "Poor girl. Is there another planet where women are actually revered with the honor they deserve? Asking for EVERYONE."
Also Read: Amelia Earhart vanished in 1937. A strange occurrence hints she was on THIS island

Who was Amelia Earhart?

Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic (1932) and the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California (1935). She was on a mission to become the first woman to fly around the world in a Lockheed Electra 10E. In the final leg, she was supposed to fly 2,600 miles from Lae, New Guinea, to the tiny Howland Island. Her final transmission on July 2, 1937, was - "We are running north and south" and that they were running out of fuel. She vanished soon after, and the most widely accepted theory is that she and her navigator, Fred Noonan, missed the island and crashed into the Pacific Ocean. The wreckage has not been found to date despite several expeditions and programs being carried out. Another theory some believe in is that she got stuck as a castaway on the uninhabited island of Nikumaroro. Some people think she was captured by Japanese forces in the Marshall Islands. She was declared officially dead on January 5, 1939.