Japanese blogger casts some doubt on ‘Amelia Earhart’ photo
NEW YORK — A Japanese military history buff has apparently undermined a new theory that Amelia Earhart survived a crashlanding in the Pacific Ocean during her historic attempted round-the-world flight in 1937.
The history blogger has posted the same photograph that formed the backbone of a History channel documentary that aired on Sunday that argued that Earhart was alive in July 1937 — but the book the photo was in was apparently published two years before the famed aviator disappeared. The History channel is looking into the matter but stands behind its documentary.
The undated black-andwhite photo is of a group of people standing on a dock on Jaluit Atoll in the Marshall Islands. One of the people seems to be a slim woman with her back to the camera.
The documentary argued that it proved Earhart, and her navigator Fred Noonan, landed in 1937 in the Japanese-Islands, where they were held prisoner.
The History channel said Tuesday its investigators are “exploring the latest developments about Amelia Earhart and we will be transparent in our findings.”
“Ultimately, historical accuracy is most important to us and our viewers,” it said in a statement.
In the documentary, the photo is subjected to facialrecognition and other forensic testing. Experts on the show said the subjects are likely Earhart and Noonan.
A retired federal agent said he discovered the image in 2012 in the National Archives in College Park, Md. The blogger said he found the same image digitized in Japan’s National Diet Library but it has not been authenticated.
The disappearance of Earhart and Noonan has been the subject of continuing research and debate.