Amelia Earhart 1897 - 1937
Amelia Earhart 1897 - 1937
(By the Associated Press)
Burry Port, Wales, June 18. 1928
Carrying the first woman ever to cross the Atlantic by air, the American monoplane Friendship gracefully swept down on Burry estuary on the south coast of Wales, shortly after noon today, completing a brilliant 2,000 mile hop across the northern Atlantic in less than 24 hours.
It was more than just a hop across the Atlantic for Miss Amelia Earhart, Boston social worker, who was one of the crew of the plane -- she took her turn at the stick just as did Wilmer Stutz, the chief pilot in the long journey through mist and rain that marked most of the trip.
Out of gas and seeking for a haven, Stutz brought the great plan down gently between Burry Port and Llanelly and brought her to a stop with the nose of her pontoons, just touching the shore.
While all England and Ireland waited on tiptoe this morning to welcome the American trans-Atlantic plane Friendship, from her Atlantic flight, Miss Earhart and her two companions settled down unexpectedly in Burry estuary, Wales.
The Friendship, without warning, slipped in over Bristol channel, which is at the mouth of the River Severn, and came down in Burry estuary several miles off Burry Port.
It was 12:40 p.m. just 10 hours and 49 minutes after the Friendship took off from Trepassey, Newfoundland, where she has been held about ten days by unfavorable weather conditions and difficulty in making a takeoff with her great lead of gasoline.
The tri-motored plane, the first equipped with pontoons to make the direct crossing, came to rest as the tide was fully out and the pontoons soon drove their noses into the sand close to shore.
A launch was sent out immediately to the plane to determine the wishes of the fliers and render any assistance possible.
Not in years has this tiny port experienced such a thrill as when the big plane swooped into the estuary carrying the first woman ever to cross the Atlantic by air.
It was doubtful if many people in the little port even knew that the plane was enroute from Newfoundland. However, it did not take long for news of that seaport was all set to give the American girl and the plane a great welcome. The first definite report that the Friendship was on this side of the Atlantic came from the Steamship America, over which the plane circles twice some 70 miles southeast of Cobb. The plane dropped several knote, but these did not land on the steamer.
With word of the plane's sighting so near Ireland, it was then assured that the great venture would turn out successfully, but the big questions remained as to just where she would settle down and touch the goal for victory.
Amelia Earhart - Accomplishments
1922
May 16 , received pilot's license
1922
October 22, set women's altitude record of 14,000 feet
1928
June 17-18, became first woman to fly across the Atlantic as a passenger
1929
Took third place in the first Women's Air Derby in her Lockheed Vega
1930
Set women's speed record of 181 miles per hour
1931
Set autogiro altitude record of 18,451 feet
1932
May 20-21, became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic
June 21, received the National Geographic Society's Special Gold Medal
August 24-25, set women's transcontinental speed record from Los Angeles, California to Newark, New Jersey
1933
July 7-8, broke her previous women's transcontinental speed record from
Los Angeles, California to Newark, New Jersey
1935
January 11-12, became first person to fly solo from Honolulu, Hawaii to Oakland, California
April 19-20, became first person to fly solo from Los Angeles, California to Mexico City
May 8, became first person to fly solo from Mexico City to Newark, New Jersey
1937
Broke her previous women's transcontinental speed record from Oakland, California to Honolulu, Hawaii
Record flight around the world along the equator, before disappearing with her navigator after covering more than 22,000 miles (two-thirds of her total flight