Trump Takes Unprecedented Step, Orders Release of All Amelia Earhart Records
In a move that has reignited public fascination with one of aviation’s most enduring mysteries, President Trump announced Friday that he has directed his administration to declassify and release all government records related to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart — the pioneering aviator who vanished nearly nine decades ago while attempting a historic flight around the world.
“I have been asked by many people about the life and times of Amelia Earhart — such an interesting story — and would I consider declassifying and releasing everything about her, in particular, her last, fatal flight!” Trump posted on his Truth Social account. The President went on to praise Earhart as an aviation legend, describing her as “the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean” and a trailblazer who shattered barriers in the early days of flight.
“She disappeared in the South Pacific while trying to become the first woman to fly around the world,” Trump wrote. “Amelia made it almost three quarters around the world before she suddenly, and without notice, vanished, never to be seen again. Her disappearance, almost 90 years ago, has captivated millions. I am ordering my Administration to declassify and release all Government Records related to Amelia Earhart, her final trip, and everything else about her.”
Earhart’s story remains one of America’s most iconic tales of courage, innovation, and mystery. The National Air and Space Museum highlights that she was not only the first woman to make a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, but also the second person in history to achieve the feat. Her achievements catapulted her to global fame and helped pave the way for generations of female aviators.
Earhart’s rise in aviation began humbly. While working as a Red Cross nurse’s aide in Toronto during World War I, she attended her first airshow in 1918. In December 1920, she took her first flight with World War I pilot Frank Hawks, later recalling, “As soon as I left the ground, I knew I myself had to fly.” Under the guidance of flight instructor Anita “Neta” Snook, Earhart pursued lessons while supporting herself with jobs as a telephone operator and photographer.
By 1921, she had soloed and soon purchased her first aircraft, a Kinner Airster. Just one year later, she set a women’s altitude record of 14,000 feet — even before earning her official pilot certification in 1923, becoming the 16th woman to receive a license from the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
Earhart’s ambitions reached their peak in 1937 when she set out on a daring attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Alongside navigator Fred Noonan, she piloted a twin-engine Lockheed Electra, last making radio contact near Howland Island, a tiny Pacific atoll. Despite one of the most exhaustive search efforts of the time, no definitive trace of Earhart, Noonan, or their aircraft was ever recovered, cementing the disappearance as one of aviation’s greatest unsolved mysteries.
Over the decades, theories have ranged from a tragic ocean crash due to fuel exhaustion — the leading hypothesis — to more speculative claims, including the possibility of landing on a remote island and dying as a castaway, or even being captured amid rising geopolitical tensions in the Pacific. None of the theories have been proven, leaving the public imagination to fill the void.
Earhart’s legacy extends far beyond her disappearance. A fierce advocate for women in aviation, she helped found the Ninety-Nines, an international organization for female pilots that continues to support women in flight today. Her record-setting flights and bold ambition inspired millions, challenging social norms and redefining what women could achieve in the early 20th century.
Now, as the federal government prepares to release long-held records surrounding her final journey, historians, aviation experts, and enthusiasts alike hope fresh information may illuminate new truths about Earhart’s fate — or at the very least, deepen understanding of the extraordinary woman behind the legend.
Whether the newly ordered disclosures will unravel history’s mystery or simply add texture to an already storied legacy, one thing remains clear: generations after her disappearance, Amelia Earhart’s spirit endures — and her story continues to captivate the nation and the world.
