OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Amelia Rose Earhart has completed the round-the-world journey that her namesake never finished nearly eight decades ago.
The 31-year-old pilot completed the 24,300-mile journey Friday when her single-engine plane landed at Oakland International Airport, where she was greeted by her parents and crowds of supporters.
Earhart is not related to the famed aviator who disappeared during her attempted global flight in 1937.
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The Denver resident and her co-pilot Shane Jordan took off from Oakland on June 26 and made 17 stops in 14 countries. They flew in a Pilatus C-12 plane equipped with GPS and other modern technology her namesake never had.
Earhart hopes the global flight will inspire girls to fly. She runs a nonprofit called the Fly With Amelia Foundation that sends teenage girls to flight school.
