Editing Amelia Earhart (section)

===Flight between Lae and Howland Island===
[[File:Earhart locations.png|thumb|Earhart's flight was intended to be from [[Lae Airfield]] to [[Howland Island]], a trip of {{convert|2556|miles|nmi km|-2}}.]]

On <time datetime="1937-07-02T00:00Z">July 2, 1937,</time> at 10:00 am local time (12:00 am [[GMT]]), Earhart and Noonan took off from [[Lae Airfield]] in the heavily loaded Electra.<ref>[http://gc.kls2.com/airport/AYLA.OLD Lae Airfield (AYLA)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018133354/http://gc.kls2.com/airport/AYLA.OLD |date=October 18, 2012 }} at Great Circle Mapper</ref> Their destination was [[Howland Island]], a flat sliver of land 6,500&nbsp;ft (2,000&nbsp;m) long and 1,600&nbsp;ft (500&nbsp;m) wide, 10&nbsp;ft (3&nbsp;m) high and {{convert|2556|mi|nmi km}} away.<ref>{{cite gnis |id=1393033 he |name=Howland Island |access-date = February 24, 2009}}</ref> The expected flying time was about 20 hours; accounting for the two-hour time-zone difference between Lae and Howland, and the crossing of the [[International Date Line]], the aircraft was expected to arrive at Howland the morning of the next day, 2 July. The aircraft departed Lae with about {{convert|1100|USgal|l|abbr=off|sp=us}} of gasoline.{{sfn|Chater|1937}}

In preparation for the trip to Howland Island, the [[U.S. Coast Guard]] had sent the cutter {{USCGC|Itasca|1929}} to the island to offer communication and navigation support for the flight.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.uscg.mil/Browse-by-Topic/Assets/Water/All/Article/2489592/itasca-1930|title=Itasca, 1930|website=United States Coast Guard}}</ref> The cutter was to communicate with Earhart's aircraft via radio, transmit a homing signal to help the aviators locate Howland Island, use radio direction-finding (RDF), and use the cutter's boilers to create a dark column of smoke that could be seen over the horizon.<ref name="auto"/> All of the navigation methods failed to guide Earhart to Howland Island.<ref name="auto"/>

Around <time datetime="1937-07-02T15:00+10:00">3&nbsp;pm Lae time</time>, Earhart reported her altitude as {{cvt|10000|feet}}, but that they would reduce altitude due to thick clouds. Around <time datetime="1937-07-02T17:00+10:00">5&nbsp;pm</time>, Earhart reported her altitude as {{cvt|7000|ft}} and speed as {{cvt|150|kn}}.{{sfn|Collopy|1937}} During Earhart's and Noonan's approach to Howland Island, ''Itasca'' received strong, clear voice transmissions from Earhart identifying as KHAQQ, but she was unable to hear voice transmissions from the ship.<ref name="auto"/>

The first calls received from Earhart were routine reports stating the weather was cloudy and overcast at <time datetime="1937-07-02T02:45-11:30" title="14:15Z">2:45&nbsp;am</time> and just before <time datetime="1937-07-02T05:00-11:30" title="16:30Z">5&nbsp;am on July 2</time>. These calls were broken up by static, but at this point, the aircraft was a long distance from Howland.{{sfn|Fleming|2011|p=2}} At <time datetime="1937-07-02T06:14-11:30" title="17:44Z">6:14&nbsp;am</time>, another call was received stating that the aircraft was within {{convert|200|miles|km}} and requesting that the ship use its direction finder to provide a bearing for the aircraft. Earhart began whistling into the microphone to provide a continuous signal for the ship's crew to use.{{sfn|Fleming|2011|p=3}} At this point, the radio operators on ''Itasca'' realized their RDF system could not tune into the aircraft's signal on 3105&nbsp;kHz; radioman Leo Bellarts later commented he "was sitting there sweating blood because I couldn't do a darn thing about it".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://penguinrandomhouselibrary.com/book/?isbn=9780307980212|title=Amelia Lost|website=Penguin Random House Library Marketing}}</ref> A similar call asking for a bearing was received at <time datetime="1937-07-02T06:45-11:30" title="18:15Z">6:45&nbsp;am</time>, when Earhart estimated they were {{convert|100|miles|km}} away.{{sfn|Fleming|2011|p=4}}

An ''Itasca'' radio log at 7:30–7:40&nbsp;am states the aircraft had only a half hour of fuel remaining. A further radio log states they thought they were near ''Itasca'' but could not locate it and were flying at {{cvt|1000|feet}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/37_ItascaLogs/pos2page2.pdf |title=Radio Entries and Times |access-date = November 20, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161021164910/http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/37_ItascaLogs/pos2page2.pdf |archive-date = October 21, 2016 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In her transmission at <time datetime="1937-07-02T07:58-11:30" title="19:28Z">7:58&nbsp;am</time>, Earhart said she could not hear ''Itasca'' and asked them to send voice signals so she could try to take a radio bearing. ''Itasca'' reported this signal as the loudest possible signal, indicating Earhart and Noonan were in the immediate area. The ship could not send voice at the frequency she asked for so they sent Morse code signals instead. Earhart acknowledged receiving these but said she was unable to determine their direction.<ref>Jacobson, Randall S., PhD. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/finalflight3.html "The Final Flight. Part 3: At Howland Island."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716011358/http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/finalflight3.html |date=July 16, 2012 }} ''tighar.org'', 2009. Accessed: July 10, 2010.</ref>

[[File:USCGC Itasca.jpg|thumb|left|USCGC ''Itasca'' was at Howland Island to support the flight.]]

The last voice transmission received on Howland Island from Earhart indicated she and Noonan were flying along a line of position running north-to-south on 157–337 degrees, which Noonan would have calculated and drawn on a chart as passing through Howland.{{sfn|Safford|2003|p=145}} After all contact with Howland Island was lost, attempts to reach the flyers with voice and [[Morse code]] transmissions were made. Operators across the Pacific and in the United States may have heard signals from the Electra but these were weak or unintelligible.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Brandenburg/signalcatalog2.html |title=Catalog and Analysis of Radio Signals During The Search for Amelia Earhart in July 1937 |last1=Brandenburg |first1=Bob |last2=Gillespie |first2=Ric |website=tighar.org |accessdate=November 18, 2024}}</ref>

A series of misunderstandings, errors or mechanical failures are likely to have occurred on the final approach to Howland Island. Noonan had earlier written about problems affecting the accuracy of RDF in navigation. Another cited cause of possible confusion was that ''Itasca'' and Earhart planned their communication schedule using time systems set a half-hour apart; Earhart was using [[Greenwich Civil Time]] (GCT) and ''Itasca'' was using a Naval time-zone designation system.<ref name="Hoversten">Hoversten 2007, pp. 22–23.</ref>

Sources have noted Earhart's apparent lack of familiarity with her direction-finding system, which had been fitted to the aircraft just prior to the flight. The system was equipped with a new receiver from [[Bendix Corporation]]. Earhart's only training on the system was a brief introduction by Joe Gurr at the Lockheed factory. A card displaying the antenna's band settings was mounted so it was not visible.{{sfn|Long|Long|1999|p=116}} The Electra expected ''Itasca'' to transmit signals the Electra could use as an RDF beacon to find the ship. In theory, the plane could listen for the signal while rotating its [[loop antenna]]; a sharp minimum indicates the direction of the RDF beacon. The Electra's RDF equipment had failed due to a blown fuse during an earlier leg flying to Darwin; the fuse was replaced.<ref>Abbott, 1937, {{cite web |url=https://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Letters/Abbott8_3_37.pdf |title=Enclosure No.2 to Despatch No.507 from the American Consulate General, Sydney, Australia, dated August 21, 1937, entitled "Round-the-world Flight of Miss Earhart" COPY. COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA. Northern Territory Administration, File No. 37/477. Darwin. 3rd August, 1937. |access-date = November 19, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161019053024/http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Letters/Abbott8_3_37.pdf |archive-date = October 19, 2016 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Near Howland, Earhart could hear the transmission from ''Itasca'' on 7500&nbsp;kHz, but she was unable to determine a minimum so she could not determine a direction to the ship. Earhart was also unable to determine a minimum during an RDF test at Lae.{{sfn|Chater|1937}}