Again the request was unanswered.
7:42 A.M. Amelia broke in loud and clear. Her voice was high and frantic. “We must be on you,” she said. “But cannot see you. But gas is running low. Been unable to reach you by radio. We are flying at altitude 1,000 feet.”
7:43 A.M. KHAQQ from Itasca: “Received your message, signal strength 5. Go ahead.”
Again the ship sent out the homing signal on 3,105 and then on 500 kilocycles.
7:49 A.M. KHAQQ from Itasca: “Your message O.K. Please acknowledge with phone on 3,105.”
7:58 A.M. Amelia called in again. She obviously had not heard the Itasca, for she failed to acknowledge the ship’s message. “KHAQQ calling Itasca,” she reported in; again her voice was loud and clear. “We are circling, but cannot hear you. Go ahead on 7,500 either now or on schedule time of half-hour.”
8:00 A.M. The Itasca sent out a long series of A’s on 7,500 kilocycles.
In response to the ship’s message, Amelia broke in: “We are receiving your signals, but are unable to get a minimum [for a bearing]. Please take a bearing on us and answer with voice on 3,105.”
The Itasca probably could have taken an accurate bearing on her if she had counted numbers rather than whistled. The whistling sound was too much like static to be distinguished from it.
At 10:00 A.M. July 2, when Amelia had taken off from Lae, it was 12:00 noon, July 1, on Howland, two hours later but one day earlier. At 8:00 A.M. the next day, Howland time, she had been in the air for twenty hours of elapsed time. If after adding throttle to compensate for head winds she had averaged a ground speed of 142 mph over the distance of 2,556 miles, she should have been over Howland at the end of eighteen hours. If she had averaged only 128 mph because of head winds, after twenty hours she should have been well over the target island.