An authentic rare document signed by Amelia Earhart which provides details of her aircraft has been found after half a century.
The document, which was hidden in an attic, was filled out by the aviation pioneer in order to enter the 1936 National Air Races with her famous Lockheed Electra.
Less than a year after competing in the races, Earhart disappeared while attempting to fly the Lockheed plane around the world.
Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan went missing on July 2, 1937, during a flight from Papua New Guinea to Howland Island in the Pacific. Their fate became one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century until several months ago their bones were found on an island about 300 miles south of the island she was supposed to land on.
According to Fox News, the document is part of an archive of 64 forms filled out by aviators of the era that will be unveiled by a historical document dealer, the Raab Collection, on Thursday. The Earhart document and the accompanying archive are valued at $75,000.
The 1936 National Air Races represented an important moment in female aviators history. The race was the first time when women were allowed to compete against men.
Except for Earhart, Jacqueline Cochran, Louise Thaden, Laura Ingalls, Grace Prescott and Helen McCloskey also took part in the race, with Thaden winning the prestigious Bendix trophy.
The Earhart document offers a look into the life of an aviation icon.
“It was discovered in a box in the back of an attic,” Nathan Raab, one of the owners of the Raab Collection, told Fox News.
Fox News reports that in the document, Earhart lists technical details of her plane, its registration number and its date of manufacture – July 20, 1936.
“To see Earhart describe her ‘new’ plane in such detail is remarkable,” Raab told Fox News.
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