For the sake of truthiness I did some archival search on this.
Thanks Dan. Yeah, let's have a look at this. First of all, the article says, "Earhart arrived for a secret photo shoot on the roof of Copley Plaza Hotel in the brown leather jacket, lace-up boots and leather helmet that she had worn on flights for years."
There are plenty of photos of AE in flying gear prior to 1928, but I can't find one with her wearing a helmet like the white-trimmed one.
Remember that AE flew the Vega in this race - most other contestants flew open-cockpit aircraft but there would be no reason for AE to wear such headgear.
True, but she apparently did wear a helmet when flying the Vega on the 1932 transatlantic flight. The Spirit of St. Louis was not open cockpit but Lindbergh wore a helmet. Wearing a flying helmet was just what you did.
The Times article says, "The pictures matched multiple photographs at her Welsh landing site," but I can't find any photos of her in Londonderry wearing or carrying a helmet. The photo below was taken in England a few days later but it's not the white-rimmed helmet.
There were _many_ newspaper accounts including several images of AE but I found no contemporary newspaper photos that showed AE wearing "the helmet" during the timeframe immediately before, during, or after the race. I found no YouTube images whatsoever of AE during or after the race, including the alleged mobbing of AE by fans at the Cleveland airfield.
There are a few in
this Youtube story about the 1929 race but none of them show her wearing a helmet.
Several of the other contestants, who flew open-cockpit aircraft, wore seemingly identical headgear, probably a commercially-available item.
Several of the contestants had white helmets. Amelia, at some point, also had a white helmet. Very chic. The distinctive thing about the 1928 helmet is the white trim. Gladys O'Connell wore one in the 1929 race, so they were commercially available. Photo below.
This specimen might be a target for DNA testing, but I won't be making a bid on it. Trust but verify.
For a shot at DNA you'd have to find a hair in the helmet with the follicle still attached. Not likely.
The article says, "Distinctive creasing and puckering on the helmet’s front and sides were plain to see. There was noticeable wear on the trim on the earflaps of the helmet that matched up as well."
Why would the creasing and puckering be any different on anyone else's identical helmet, and why wouldn't any well-worn helmet have noticeable wear on the trim on the earflaps?
Actually, I have Amelia's helmet. Bids are open.