94 years ago, Amelia Earhart took flight toward her destiny

On May 20, 1932, Amelia Earhart took off for a transatlantic flight that became one of the greatest feats in aviation history.

On that day, Amelia Earhart took control of her red Lockheed Vega on the soaked runway of Harbour Grace, Newfoundland. Destination: the North Atlantic. A few hours later, the American aviator entered the legend of global aviation forever.

The historical wink is far from trivial. Exactly five years earlier, on the same day, Charles Lindbergh took off from New York aboard the Spirit of St. Louis to accomplish the first solo, non-stop transatlantic flight. Amelia Earhart wanted to follow in his footsteps, but also to prove that she was not just a media figure in American aviation.

For in 1928, Earhart had already crossed the Atlantic… as just a passenger. An experience she had found difficult.

This time, she leaves alone

The flight quickly becomes an extreme test. Icing, strong turbulence, faulty instruments, fatigue, and fuel leaks accompany the pilot throughout the crossing. On board her Lockheed Vega, without modern navigation aids, Amelia Earhart navigates almost by instinct over a hostile Atlantic.

After nearly fifteen hours of flight, she gives up reaching Paris due to the weather and finally lands on May 21, 1932, in a field near Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

The achievement is immense: Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to cross the Atlantic solo and the second person in history to succeed in such a crossing after Lindbergh.

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• 14/05/2026 14:51

118 Years Ago, the First Passenger in History Took a Flight

Nearly a century later, this flight remains a major symbol in the history of aviation, but also of women’s emancipation in technical, industrial, and aeronautical fields. On May 20, 1932, Amelia Earhart was not just repeating history: she was writing her own.

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Photo: National Air and Space Museum