Featured Image Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Staff via Getty
Donald Trump has promised the release of Amelia Earhart's records of her final flight in a surprising statement.
The female aviator's mysterious disappearance over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 has fuelled decades of conspiracy theories.
Earhart became a legend in 1932 as the first woman to pilot a plane solo across the Atlantic. Five years later, she set out to conquer the Pacific and become the first female aviator to circle the entire globe by air.
But somewhere over the Pacific, Earhart vanished, triggering a massive two-week search operation for her and navigator Fred Noonan. Sadly, they were never found, leading experts to assume they had crashed somewhere in the ocean while flying from New Guinea toward Howland Island.
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Her final radio transmission reported she was running dangerously low on fuel and although the Navy launched an extensive search, they came up empty-handed. In 1939, the US government declared Earhart's death concluding that she and Noonan went down with the plane.
However, alternative theorists believe her plane touched down on a remote Pacific island, while others think Japanese forces captured her.
Now, President Donald Trump is reportedly ordering his administration to declassify and make all government files related to the American pilot public.
"I have been asked by many people about the life and times of Amelia Earhart, such an interesting story, and would I consider declassifying and releasing everything about her, in particular, her last, fatal flight!" the POTUS posted on Truth Social on Friday (26 September).
In his announcement, Trump praised Earhart as an 'Aviation Pioneer, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean,' who 'achieved many other Aviation "firsts"'.
He added: "Amelia made it almost three quarters around the World before she suddenly, and without notice, vanished, never to be seen again. Her disappearance, almost 90 years ago, has captivated millions.
"I am ordering my Administration to declassify and release all Government Records related to Amelia Earhart, her final trip, and everything else about her. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
The announcement follows the ongoing scrutiny of Trump’s handling of government records, particularly those connected to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Recent reports have also named high-profile figures, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Prince Andrew, as alleged 'visitors' to Epstein's private island. Trump previously called requests for the release of more Epstein files a 'Democrat hoax that never ends' that reminded him 'a little of the Kennedy situation.'
He said: “We gave them everything over and over again, more, and more and more. And nobody is ever satisfied. From what I understand, thousands of pages of documents have been given.”
