Most people know of Amelia Earhart. She was the woman who dared to go outside aviation limits for women. She was the first to fly solo, and nonstop, across the Atlantic Ocean. Most also know her by her last event, which ended in a tragedy.
The last thing heard by the U.S Coast Guard of Amelia Earhart is, “We are on line 157, 337.” These words and numbers tell where Amelia Earhart was at the time that her message came through. But were those really Amelia Earhart’s last words?
On July 2, 1937, the US navy put an “all ships, all stations” bulletin, as National Post says. The authorities asked everyone “a radio and a trained ear to listen in to the frequencies she had been using on her trip, 3105 and 6210 kilohertz.”
It was not, however, an easy task. The Electra, the plane Amelia flew, was unfortunately only designed to have a radio reach within a few hundred miles. The pacific ocean was much more vast than a couple hundred miles.
Across the world a 15 year old girl listening to the radio in St. Petersburg, Fla., was surprised to hear faint words humming in the background. When transcribed, it appeared that Amelia Earhart was actually calling out a plea for help: “waters high,” “water’s knee deep– let me out” and “help us quick,” National Post said.
Another recording was heard shortly after: “We have taken in water, my navigator is badly hurt. We are in need of medical care and must have help. We can’t hold on much longer.”
Those are thought to be Amelia Earhart’s last words, as no one had ever heard from her again.
In the end, whether “we are on the line 157, 337” is Amelia’s last words or not, we still must praise and recognize her for her brave acts and contributions to aviation history.
