5 of the wildest conspiracy theories behind Amelia Earhart's disappearance

Lia Ryerson,Katherine Tangalakis-LippertJan 30, 2024, 10:51 IST

Amelia Earhart (L) with her navigator, Captain Fred Noonan, in 1937.Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

Amelia Earhart was one of the most famous aviators in the world when she vanished in 1937.
Her disappearance is among the greatest mysteries of all time, spurring many conspiracy theories.

Amelia Earhart became the first female to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1932, nearly a century ago.

However, just five years after her famous solo flight, the American aviatrix vanished over the Pacific Ocean during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe by plane.

While some researchers who've been on the hunt for what happened to the iconic pilot believe they may have found the wreckage of Earhart's plane at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, to this day, the mystery behind her disappearance remains unsolved.

Here's what we know: On July 2, 1937, Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, departed from Lae, New Guinea. They were heading for Howland Island, a small island located in the central Pacific Ocean, but they never arrived. By 1939, both Earhart and Noonan were declared dead.

While the case remains unresolved, there are conspiracy theories abound over the late pilot's fate. Here are five of the most compelling guesses behind what happened to Earhart's ill-fated flight.

1. Earhart crashed her plane and drowned in the Pacific Ocean.

Earhart was declared legally dead on January 5, 1939.Keystone/Getty Images

Crash-and-sink theorists postulate that Earhart ran out of fuel while trying to locate tiny Howard Island and subsequently crashed into the open ocean and drowned.

This theory is supported by the fact that Earhart and Noonan put in many calls to the US Coast Guard ship "Itasca," communicating that they were low on fuel and having trouble finding Howard Island.

Despite the $4 million rescue authorized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to find the pilots, no trace of the aircraft, Earhart, or Noonan, was ever found.

Crash-and-sink theorists postulate that Earhart ran out of fuel while trying to locate tiny Howard Island and subsequently crashed into the open ocean and drowned.

This theory is supported by the fact that Earhart and Noonan put in many calls to the US Coast Guard ship Itasca, communicating that they were low on fuel and having trouble finding Howard Island.

Despite the $4 million rescue authorized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to find the pilots, no trace of the aircraft, Earhart, or Noonan, was ever found.

2. She landed safely but on the wrong island.

Amelia Earhart operates the controls of a flying laboratory, ca. 1935.Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Earhart knew she was running low on fuel, which meant one of two things — she either crashed somewhere or landed successfully.

One theory suggests that Earhart managed to land her aircraft safely — just not on Howard Island, as anticipated. The International Historic Aircraft Recovery Group believes that Earhart ultimately landed on Gardner Island, a nearby deserted island that is now called Nikumaroro, when she couldn't locate Howard and then perished as a castaway.

However, since her aircraft has not been found, this remains nothing but a theory.

Earhart knew she was running low on fuel, which meant one of two things — she either crashed somewhere or landed successfully.

However, since her aircraft has not been found, this remains nothing but a theory.

3. She was captured and taken prisoner by the Japanese.

Some believe this photo shows Amelia Earhart's back.US National Archives

A photo was discovered in the National Archives that depicts a woman who resembles Earhart sitting on a dock in the Marshall Islands near a man who resembles her navigator, Noonan.

The discovery of the photograph helps substantiate the theory that Earhart and Noonan didn't crash at all but instead landed in the Marshall Islands, where they were taken prisoner by the Japanese.

Retired government investigator Les Kinney told NBC News that the photo "clearly indicates that Earhart was captured by the Japanese," despite Japanese authorities' insistence that they have no record of Earhart ever being in their custody.

A photo was discovered in the National Archives that depicts a woman who resembles Earhart sitting on a dock in the Marshall Islands near a man who resembles her navigator, Noonan.

The discovery of the photograph helps substantiate the theory that Earhart and Noonan didn't crash at all but instead landed in the Marshall Islands, where they were taken prisoner by the Japanese.

Retired government investigator Les Kinney told NBC News that the photo clearly indicates that Earhart was captured by the Japanese, despite Japanese authorities' insistence that they have no record of Earhart ever being in their custody.

4. She was a spy.

Amelia Earhart smiling as she leaves the US Embassy in London, 1932.Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Some allege that Earhart was more than just a daring pilot out to become the first woman to fly across the globe: She was a government agent.

Randall Brink, author of the book "Lost Star," theorizes that Earhart never intended to fly to Howard Island; rather, she and Noonan were on a mission to document the goings-on of Japanese island installations for the US government, when they were detected by the Japanese and either shot down or forced to land.

Some allege that Earhart was more than just a daring pilot out to become the first woman to fly across the globe: She was a government agent.

Randall Brink, author of the book Lost Star, theorizes that Earhart never intended to fly to Howard Island; rather, she and Noonan were on a mission to document the goings-on of Japanese island installations for the US government, when they were detected by the Japanese and either shot down or forced to land.

5. She lived ... and then assumed another woman's identity.

One of the more wild conspiracies is that Amelia Earhart lived.Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

In 1970, a book called "Amelia Earhart Lives" was published, thus unleashing one of the wildest conspiracy theories surrounding Earhart's death upon the public to date.

Joe Klass, the author of the book, argues that not only did Earhart survive her Pacific Ocean plane crash, but that she was taken by the Japanese, found and rescued by US forces, and then secretly repatriated to New Jersey, where she assumed the identity of Irene Bolam, a housewife.

The problem, of course, was that Irene Bolam already existed. When she got wind of this news, she filed a lawsuit vehemently denying the claims.

In 1970, a book called Amelia Earhart Lives was published, thus unleashing one of the wildest conspiracy theories surrounding Earhart's death upon the public to date.