According to the Daily Mail, her final message was: "My God, it's full of stars!" Just kidding! But that would have been cool. What the article actually reports is this:
The last radio transmissions from Earhart occurred on July 2, the day she and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared, when she told the US Coast Guard cutter Itasca that her plane was near Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean but was running low on fuel.
The aviator continued to transmit fragments, sounding increasingly desperate as she called for help, saying she was lost and asking for the Itasca, a boat stationed off the tiny atoll, to act like a giant radio compass to guide her in.
The records, released by the US National Archives (NSA), have now explained that the crew on Itasca tried to help, but it took them a critical two full minutes to switch their equipment to the right frequency (7500 kHz) and start sending the signal she needed.
Earhart's last confirmed transmission, at 8.43am local time, showed the aviator circling in vain, as she believed she was flying up and down along an invisible straight line that runs through Howland Island.
However, she could not see the atoll or the Itasca's smoke screen through the clouds. 'We are on the line 157-337... circling but cannot hear you... Go ahead on 7500,' were among the final words spoken over the radio by Earhart, followed by her plea to repeat on 6210 kHz: 'Will repeat this message... Wait.'
Even more tantalizing was the revelation that the US listening posts in Hawaii picked up a faint 'echo' of her voice at the same moment, a detail buried in classified NSA files until last week's release.
The article also relates:
Previously blacked-out notes have now confirmed that overcast skies forced her through clouds overnight, causing a navigation drift.
Aircraft condition assessments released on Friday revealed Earhart's plane was inspected before her final flight, and mechanics found problems with how the engine mixed fuel, damage connected to her earlier crash in Hawaii.
Earhart crashed in Hawaii on March 20, 1937, during a takeoff attempt at Luke Field on Ford Island. The incident occurred while she was on her first attempt to fly around the world, and her plane was significantly damaged but no one was injured.
The records showed that the plane was carrying too much fuel and cargo, which made it heavier and harder to fly.
Because of that extra weight, Earhart burned fuel faster than expected, about 20 percent faster, according to the documents.
So, the problem was a woman driver the whole time?
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