Embry-Riddle to Host Aviation History Speaker Presentation on Amelia Earhart

Photo: Amelia Earhart

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will host Capt. Don Baier, a retired U.S. Air Force and airline captain, for an upcoming Aviation History Speaker Presentation exploring the life, legend and legacy of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart.

The presentation, free and open to the public, will take place Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. Doors will open at 6 p.m., with the presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the Davis Learning Center Auditorium at Embry-Riddle’s Prescott Campus.

Baier’s presentation will examine Earhart’s early flight training, record-setting flights, solo transatlantic flights and worldwide acclaim. It also will explore her 1937 world flight, the Lockheed Electra 10E, navigator Fred Noonan, celestial navigation and competing theories about her disappearance, as well as modern deep-sea sonar searches.

The presentation was researched and consolidated at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., where Baier served as a docent for 34 years, including 24 years as lead docent. He also brings 42 years of jet aviation experience and more than 19,000 flight hours in supersonic aircraft, commercial transports and international long-haul operations.

Baier’s aviation career included serving as a U.S. Air Force and airline captain and participating in congressional and vice-presidential airlift missions from Andrews Air Force Base. His presentation will offer an informed look at one of aviation’s most enduring mysteries.

For more information, contact event coordinator Chris Walton at waltonc1@erau.edu or 928-777-6960.

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