Why was Earhart flying at the exceptionally low level of 1,000 feet in the approach to Howland Island?
4. One of the incriminating pieces of information that came forth in the Earhart investigation was that Earhart was flying at 1,000 feet at the time that she approached Howland Island. This is an exceptionally low altitude and an altitude that would normally be used in the approach for a landing only. It is not a search altitude. All, virtually all, of the reports that came in from Howland Island stated that the weather was clear in the Howland area. In fact, it was clear southbound all the way down to the Phoneix Islands, but Earhart did not know this. There also were no reports of scattered cumulus which would normally be expected over open seas. The only reported cloud formations were about 50 miles to the north and west of Howland where heavy cumulus was seen. The question of the hour seems to be what was Earhart doing down at 1,000 feet? The only answer is that Earhart was to the north and west of Howland caught up in the heavy cloud formations that were seen in the area. Thusly,
