A drop-in from Amelia Earhart
July 2, 1933: On the second day of the 13th annual National Air Races at Los Angeles Municipal Airport, Amelia Earhart flew in from Wichita, Kan., asked for a drink of water and booked a room at the Ambassador Hotel, The Times reported.
“I never had so much happen on a transcontinental trip,” she told the newspaper. “The hatch of my ship blew off in a rainstorm and I had to land in Arizona to fix it.”
The event at what is now Los Angeles International Airport drew 38,000 spectators.
“Airmen shot their bullet-like racing ships around the pylon courses of the field -- they rolled, looped and flew upside-down while the crowd gasped time and again as the latest thrills of stunt aeronautics were unfolded,” The Times said.
A parachute jumper from Chicago came crashing down on three people in the stands, leaving them bruised and scratched.
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