Flight time is a few months in 1937. Argument time is still going.
Dates below prefer logs, Navy paper and the California court.
Timeline
- Luke Field crash
The first world-flight attempt ends on takeoff from Hawaii. The Electra is rebuilt; the route will be reversed.
- Oakland to Miami
Earhart and Noonan begin the eastbound attempt, then leave Miami on 1 June for South America and Africa.
- Arrival at Lae
The Electra reaches New Guinea after the Asian and island chain. Howland is the next announced target.
- Takeoff for Howland
NR16020 leaves Lae. Itasca waits at Howland with radio and fuel.
- Last Itasca contact
About 08:43 Howland time Earhart reports the 157–337 line. The aircraft does not appear.
- Navy and Coast Guard search
Colorado, Lexington and other units search the central Pacific. No confirmed wreckage.
- Gardner Island bones
A British colonial officer reports bones and a camp on Gardner (Nikumaroro). The bones are later lost; measurements remain disputed.
- Legal death
A California court declares Earhart dead. Noonan is likewise treated as lost. Estates can close.
- TIGHAR campaigns
Private expeditions argue Nikumaroro as a landing site. Fragments are debated; no official identification follows.
- Sonar candidates
Deep-water searches near Howland publish possible targets. None is certified as the Electra.
After 1939 the official paper thins and the expedition paper thickens.
Public-record encyclopedia. Not legal advice. Not a how-to. Graphic detail is withheld. Wars belong in a separate atlas.