The namesake of the pilot at the center of one of aviation’s enduring mysteries completed a circumnavigation that, in part, symbolically completed the original attempt. Amelia Rose Earhart touched down at Oakland International Airport Friday after a 16-day flight in a Pilatus PC-12NG. Earhart, who is not related to the aviatrix who disappeared on a flight to Howland Island from New Guinea, followed roughly the same equatorial route that Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan were on in their attempt when they disappeared on July 2, 1937. It included a flight over Howland Island.
Pilatus gave Earhart the use of the PC-12 and she did all the flying herself. Jeppesen was also a major sponsor. As part of the effort, Earhart formed the Fly With Amelia Foundation to provide flight scholarships to young women and to create educational and inspirational programs for future pilots.
