Ar An Lá Seo, 20 Bealtaine: Amelia Earhart
20 Bealtaine, 1932
Ar an lá seo i 1932, d’eitil Amelia Earhart trasna an Atlantaigh ina haonar, agus thuirling sí i nDoire.
Píolóta cáiliúil a bhí in Amelia Earhart. Rugadh í in Atchison, Kansas, sa bhliain 1897. Ón óige, bhí suim mhór aici san eitilt agus in eitleáin.
Sa bhliain 1928, d’eitil Amelia le beirt phíolótaí eile trasna an Atlantaigh. Ní raibh an turas seo déanta ag duine ar bith go dtí go ndearna Charles Lindbergh é an bhliain roimhe. Anois, theastaigh ó Amelia a bheith ar an gcéad bhean a dhéanfadh an turas sin léi féin.
Ar an 20 Bealtaine 1932, d’imigh Amelia ó Thalamh an Éisc i gCeanada ar bord Lockheed Vega 5B, eitleán beag dearg. An aidhm a bhí aici ná Páras a bhaint amach. Bhí an turas an-dainséarach, le scamaill, sioc agus báisteach ag cur isteach ar an aistear. San iomlán, mhair an eitilt 14 uaire agus 54 nóiméad. Níor chríochnaigh Amelia i bPáras, áfach – ar 21 Bealtaine, thuirling sí i mBaile Arnóid, An Teampall Mór, i nDoire! Ba í an chéad bhean riamh a d’eitil trasna an Atlantaigh léi féin.
Ina dhiaidh sin, bhí plean ag Amelia eitilt timpeall an domhain ar fad. Ar an drochuair, cailleadh í agus píolóta eile, Frank Noonan, ar 2 Iúil 1937, agus iad ar turas ó Nua-Ghuine. Ní raibh tásc nó tuairsc dóibh nó an t-eitleán. Go dtí an lá inniu, níl a fhios againn cad go díreach a tharla dóibh.
May 20th, 1938
On this day in 1932, Amelia Earhart flew solo across the Atlantic and landed in Derry.
Amelia Earhart was a famous pilot, who flew across the Atlantic Ocean solo, in 1932. She was born in Atchison, Kansas, in 1897. From a young age, she was very interested in flying and in airplanes.
In 1928, Amelia flew with two other pilots across the Atlantic. No one had made this trip before, until Charles Lindbergh one year previously. Now, Amelia wanted to be the first woman to make that trip alone.
On May 20th, 1932, Amelia left Newfoundland in Canada aboard a Lockheed Vega 5B, a small red plane. Her aim was to reach Paris. The journey was very dangerous, with clouds, frost and rain disrupting the journey. In total, the flight lasted 14 hours and 54 minutes. Amelia didn’t end up in Paris, though – on 21st May, she landed in Ballyarnett, Templemore, Derry! She was the first woman ever to fly solo across the Atlantic.
After that, Amelia had a plan to fly around the world. Unfortunately, she and another pilot, Frank Noonan, were lost on July 2nd, 1937, while on a trip from New Guinea. There was no trace of them or the plane. To this day, we don’t know what exactly happened to them.
Bígí páirteach!
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