March 20, 1937 While attempting to circle the globe, Amelia Earhart ground looped her Lockhead Electra. The flight had to be postponed and the plane sent back from Hawaii to California for repairs. The cause of the crash remains controversial. Crew member Fred Noonan claimed pilot error but Earhart said either the landing gear had collapsed or a tire had blown. Earhart eventually departed in June but disappeared, never to be found, on July 2, 1937. The record flight would have to wait until 1964, when Jerri Mock became the first woman to fly around the world solo.
