She planned it as her "final flight", but probably not quite like it turned out.
Just before starting her final flight Amelia Earhart announced her intention to give up long distance “stunt flying”. When she departed from California in May of 1937, she intended that this should be her final flight. It was, but not quite in the way she had intended. By June 27th she and her co-pilot were in Australia, and planning the final leg of their flight over the Pacific. Somewhat ironically, it is recorded that the parachutes were removed and shipped home on the assumption that they would be of no use over the Pacific.
On June 29th her Electra airplane was in New Guinea at Lae. Pictures of her here show her looking very tired. She and her copilot had flown over 22,000 miles, and had a mere 7000 miles to go. They left New Guinea with an intention to land for refueling on a small Pacific island called Howland Island. The American Navy was on hand to lend her directional guidance with the latest in radio equipment. Everybody assumed all was well as she made her last transmission back to Lae.
But all was not well. Nobody really knows what happened at this time, but there has been a lot of speculation. Some say photos of the Electra leaving New Guinea show it as missing its radio antenna. The Navy ship received several short and weak transmissions from Amelia and the Electra, but could not get a long or strong enough contact to get a fix on the position of the plane. The last transmission states that the plane was short of fuel and expected to be sighting Howland Island soon. Amelia Earhart was never heard from again.
The general assumption has always been that the plane was somehow off course, and ran out of fuel causing it to crash and sink in the Pacific. Wild stories have said that she landed on a deserted island and lived for many years after. That wreckage of the plane has been found (unproven). That the whole thing is a military cover up to hide blame on the Navy in such a high profile story (unproven). We will probably never really know what happened to Amelia Earhart, but her disappearance has long been, and will likely continue to be a source of endless public interest and speculation.
