Amelia Earhart’s Mural Made M’sians Question the Authenticity of Her Taiping Landing Tale

By Aqasha Nalani  •  25 Jul 2022 in News

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Over the course of three months, six artists created a weatherproof mural of Amelia Earhart in Taiping. The mural premiered at Jalan Abdul Jalil on the wall of a shophouse, but something didn’t feel quite right for the locals.

Moments after images of the mural were posted online, Netizens chimed in and questioned the purpose of the artwork.

While the 14.6m tall and 27.4m wide mural has been recognised as the World’s Largest Outdoor 3D Mural Painting, she actually never landed in Taiping before her disappearance.

Nor Hisham Zulkiflee, secretary of the Perak Heritage Association, revealed that Earhart had merely asked for permission to land at the Tekah Aerodrome in Taiping earlier in the day.

He said Earhart was travelling to Singapore and requested a refuelling stop just in case, but never actually landed in the town.

Chairman Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohamed Radzi of the state Housing, Local Government and Tourism Committee was queried about the situation during an Ipoh arts lane launch.

No formal complaints have been made to Nolee Ashilin as of yet, she claimed.

She also added that if the city council finds facts that contradict each other, she’ll call for action to be made to correct the situation.

When questioned whether the council investigated the facts before authorising the painting, Nolee Ashilin stated it was their responsibility to check on the facts beforehand.

“There are various opinions on the authenticity, and that will be looked into,” she added.

What Happened to Amelia Earhart?

American aviator Amelia Earhart established several flying records and advocated for the progress of women in aviation. With her solo flight over the Atlantic and her flight across the Pacific, Earhart made history and became an icon of the aviation industry.

Earhart set out from Oakland, California on 1st June 1937, on a round-the-world journey in order to become the first person to fly around the world unassisted. This was her second try at the feat.

Fred Noonan served as a navigator on Earhart’s flight. They travelled to Miami, South America, over the Atlantic to Africa, then onto India and Southeast Asia.

On the 29th of June, they arrived at Lae, New Guinea. They had already travelled 22,000 kilometres by the time they arrived at Lae.

On 2nd July 1937, Earhart and Noonan left Lae for Howland Island, their next refuelling stop, which is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This was the last time Earhart was seen alive. While moored off the shore of Howland Island, she and Noonan lost radio communication with the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Itasca.

There were no signs of her jet or its remains, and she was officially reported missing at sea. Even now, her disappearance is considered one of the most notable unsolved cases of the 20th century.