Finch, Linda (1951-…), an American businesswoman and pilot, flew around the world in 1997, retracing a journey attempted by the famous aviator Amelia Earhart. Finch followed the path of Earhart’s 1937 attempt to fly around the world. Earhart crashed and died during that attempt. Finch completed the journey safely.
Life.
Finch was born in San Antonio, Texas, on March 13, 1951. She learned to fly in her twenties. Finch bought her own plane so she could travel to nursing homes that she managed throughout Texas. She also flew in air shows and participated in the Reno Air Races in Nevada.
In March 1995, Finch began to restore a 1935 Lockheed Electra 10E. This airplane was the same type that Earhart had piloted during her last flight. Finch’s plane, however, had modern navigation equipment.
Flight.
On March 17, 1997, Finch and a navigator took off from Oakland, California. She used a rotating team of navigators. They flew nearly 30,000 miles (48,000 kilometers) in nearly three months. They stopped over 30 times in about 20 countries throughout the world. Other pilots had retraced Earhart’s path. But Finch was the first to do so with a plane that was similar to Earhart’s model. Students all over the world followed Finch’s flight on the Internet.
While flying over Howland Island in the South Pacific, Finch dropped wreaths in memory of Earhart and her navigator. The two are thought to have crashed their plane and died near there, almost 60 years before Finch’s flight. In 1999, the United States Air Force honored Finch as an Eagle, a designation used to recognize aviation pioneers.
See also Earhart, Amelia .
