Celebrating Amelia Earhart’s Groundbreaking Solo Flight Across the Atlantic

On 20 May 1932, Amelia Earhart made history as the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Battling icy winds and mechanical troubles, she completed the daring 15-hour journey from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland, proving that women could conquer the skies. Here is the story of that amazing feat.

An adventurous spirit

Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas, on 24 July 1897. She was a spirited, adventurous child by all accounts, who loved climbing trees and sledding, and kept a scrapbook of newspaper articles about successful women.

In 1920, Earhart experienced her first plane journey as a passenger during a 10-minute flight and was immediately hooked. She said: “By the time I had got two or three hundred feet off the ground, I knew I had to fly.” She went on to take flying lessons, bought her own plane, gained her pilot’s licence and in 1922 she set a women’s record by flying at an altitude of 14,000 feet.

In 1928, Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger in an aeroplane. She did not fly the plane herself, but she joined pilot Wilmer “Bill” Stultz and co-pilot/mechanic Louis Gordon. The trio departed from Trepassey Harbour in Newfoundland on 17 June 1928 and landed at Burry Port in Wales. The journey took 20 hours and 40 minutes.

Making history

On 21 May 1927, Charles Lindbergh made history by making the first solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic, from New York to Paris. Five years later, almost to the day, Earhart became the second person – and the first woman – to do the same.

At 7.12pm on 20 May 1932, Earhart took off from Harbour Grace in Newfoundland, Canada, in a red Lockheed Vega 5B. She had intended to fly to Paris, like Lindbergh, but a combination of strong winds, icy conditions and mechanical problems put paid to her original plan. During the course of the 3,260-km (2,026-mile) journey, the fuel tank leaked, the exhaust manifold broke and the altimeter failed. Ice formed on the wings, causing the plane to descend by 3,000ft. After a journey lasting 14 hours and 56 minutes, Earhart was forced to land in a farmer’s field in Culmore, near Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Reportedly, when a farm hand asked if she had flown a long way, she replied: “From America.”

Earhart returned to the US a national hero. She received several honours, including the Gold Medal from the National Geographic Society and the Distinguished Flying Cross from the US Congress.

The final journey

Just five years after her triumphant feat, Amelia Earhart made her final flight. On 2 July 1937, she and her navigator Fred Noonan vanished while flying from New Guinea to Howland Island, a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean. Earhart was part-way through a daring attempt to become the first woman to fly around the world. On 19 July 1937, the pair were declared lost at sea, and mystery still surrounds what happened to them in their last moments.

Amelia Earhart secured her place in history with her groundbreaking solo flight across the Atlantic. Her fearless determination and pioneering spirit have inspired generations of women and girls around the world to chase their dreams and reach for the skies.