OAKLAND AVIATRIX SUBJECT OF WEEKEND SYMPOSIUM; NEW DATA, CONTROVERSIES TO BE EXAMINED AMELIA EARHART SYMPOSIUM AT WESTERN AEROSPACE MUSEUM TO FEATURE NEW INTERPRETATIONS OF AVIATIONS GREATEST MYSTERY

The Western Aerospace opens its doors this Friday morning to the largest assemblage of experts on the flight and fate of Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan since the aviators disappeared soon after departing what is now Oakland International Airports North Field on May 20, 1937. The event runs May 17 -- 19 and features all-day sessions on Friday and Saturday, an evening reception on Friday, a banquet on Saturday evening and a narrated tour of Earharts local haunts" on Sunday.

Oakland International Airport, May 13, 2002 -- The Western Aerospace opens its doors this Friday morning to the largest assemblage of experts on the flight and fate of Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan since the aviators disappeared soon after departing what is now Oakland International Airports North Field on May 20, 1937. The event runs May 17 -- 19 and features all-day sessions on Friday and Saturday, an evening reception on Friday, a banquet on Saturday evening and a narrated tour of Earharts local haunts" on Sunday.

The Amelia Earhart Symposium commemorates the 65th anniversary of Earharts departure from Oakland on her history-making bid to be the first woman pilot to circumnavigate the globe at the equator. The flight quickly made history, for unintended reasons, when it disappeared two-thirds of the way around the world enroute to Howland Island in the Pacific on July 2.

The largest of its kind in the world, the Amelia Earhart Symposium is expected to draw hundreds of attendees from the Bay area and around the world with its unique combination of presentations, panel discussions, question-and-answer sessions, films, tours and social events. Participants will include researchers, historians and enthusiasts who will explore existing theories about the flyers final hours enroute to Howland Island, and will present new evidence and controversial new theories. The Republic of the Marshall Islands Ambassador to the United Nations, the honorable Alfred Capelle, is scheduled to make the keynote address at Saturday evenings banquet.

The Western Aerospace Museum is dedicated to the preservation of Oaklands unique role in aviation history and few aviation stories anywhere are more important -- or more controversial -- than the Earhart disappearance," said John Newby, executive director of the Western Aerospace Museum. With the Amelia Earhart Symposium, the Museum hopes to provide a forum for true enthusiasts, as well as those who would like to know more about Oaklands contributions to aviation, to learn more about Amelia Earhart."

No one has yet been able to adequately explain the disappearance of Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan," said Ron Reuther, Amelia Earhart Symposium Committee Chairman. We intend to assemble sufficient subject-matter-experts to allow a thorough examination of new and, as of yet, unpublished, data that we believe may contribute to a better understanding of their fates."

Hundreds of serious researchers throughout the world have failed to conclusively uncover the final disposition of Earhart and Noonan. Some have exploited the mystery for their own gain and some have written books summarizing their conclusions, realistic or fanciful. The official position of the U.S. Government is that the pair perished in the ocean when they ran out of fuel and failed to find Howland Island, however, the Freedom of Information Act has been used to force the release of many, but not all, classified U.S. Government and military documents thought to exist regarding the mystery. Some of these documents, to be disclosed for the first time at the symposium, reveal previously unknown events and circumstances.

The Symposium will include screenings of the film, The Final Hours: Amelia Earharts Last Flight," a video documentary of the Howland Island. Ltd. 1999 expedition to search for Earharts aircraft and the 1943 RKO film, Flight for Freedom," starring Rosalind Russell and Fred MacMurray.

More details regarding the Amelia Earhart Symposium, including session and event dates and times, costs and registration information are available at www.westernaerospacemuseum.org, by calling 510-638-7100, or by visiting the Western Aerospace Museum at 8260 Boeing Street, Oakland International Airport -- North Field.

The Amelia Earhart Symposium is jointly sponsored by the Western Aerospace Museum, the Amelia Earhart Society, the Ninety-Nines and the Port of Oakland.

Ambassador Cappelle's participation is courtesy of JetBlue Airways.

The Western Aerospace Museum mission is to collect, preserve, and present aviation history of the Bay Area and Northern California. It was incorporated in January l98l. The founder was Ronald Reuther. The Museum opened in l986 in hangar five at Oakland Airports historic North Field. In 1988, the Museum was relocated to its present location, a wood and corrugated metal hangar built by the Boeing School of Aeronautics in 1940. School and other community groups routinely visit and use the Museum, which is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday and many holidays. For more information, visit www.westernaerospacemuseum.org.

The Amelia Earhart Society (AES) was established in 1990, from its forerunner, the Amelia Earhart Research Consortium, to serve as a focal point for the sharing of information related to Amelia Earhart. Initially, the AES circulated a quarterly newsletter to 75 -100 people. Today, AES is Web-based, maintaining an email distribution group at earhart@yahoogroups.com. Most dedicated Earhart researchers subscribe to this discussion group.

JetBlue is a low-fare, low-cost passenger airline with non-stop service from Oakland to New York City's JFK Airport and Washington, DCs Dulles International Airport. Since launching operations in February 2000, JetBlue has served more than six million passengers. The airline flies a fleet of 24 new Airbus A320 aircraft and will take delivery of another 12 new A320s by the end of 2002. All JetBlue aircraft are outfitted with roomy all-leather seats each equipped with free live satellite television, offering up to 24 channels of DIRECTV® programming. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all travel is ticketless, all fares are one-way, and a Saturday night stay is never required. The airline is offering $5 each way off all fares booked through its web site, www.jetblue.com, through June 30. For more information, schedules and fares, please visit www.jetblue.com or call JetBlue reservations at 1-800-JETBLUE.

The Ninety-Nines, Inc., is an international organization of licensed women pilots with more than 6,500 members from 35 countries. It is a non-profit, charitable membership corporation internationally headquartered in Oklahoma City. Virtually all women of achievement in aviation have been or are members of The Ninety-Nines. The organization came into being November 2, 1929, at Curtiss Field, Valley Stream, Long Island, New York. In 1931, Amelia Earhart was elected the groups first president and it was named for the original 99 charter members. Today, Ninety-Nines are professional pilots, technicians and mechanics for airlines, industry, and government who also teach and fly for pleasure.

The Port of Oakland, established in 1927, is an independent department of the City of Oakland employing some 600 people. The Port extends approximately 19 miles along the east side of the Oakland Estuary from the border of the City of Emeryville, immediately north of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, to the south to the border of the City of San Leandro. Supporting some 44,000 jobs and generating nearly $7 billion in annual economic impact, the Port of Oakland is a tremendous economic engine for Northern California. The Port of Oakland's three revenue-generating divisions are Maritime, Aviation and Commercial Real Estate. The Port oversees Oakland International Airport, Oakland's seaport -- home of the giant container cranes -- and more than 1,000 acres of real estate including Jack London Square, Oakland's premiere entertainment spot along the waterfront. The Port of Oakland, celebrating its 75th anniversary, is the fourth largest container port in the country.