Lae Airfield crane above the aircraft. The Lae airport is probably best remembered for being the point of departure in July 1937 for Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan on their flight to Howland Island. Earhart's plane disappeared near Howland Island some 19 hours after departing Lae airport. Lae Airfield Lae Airfield is a former World War II airfield and later, civilian airport located at Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. The airport was closed in the 1980s, in favour of Lae Nadzab Airport, which was able to accommodate larger jet aircraft. The airport was known as Lae Drome or Lae Aerodrome
George H. Noonan George H. Noonan George Henry Noonan (August 20, 1828 – August 17, 1907) was a U.S. Representative from Texas who was born in Newark, New Jersey. He was the first Republican congressman from Texas to be elected after the end of Reconstruction. Prior to his election in 1894, he had served as an elected state judge since 1862. Born in Newark, New Jersey in 1828, Noonan received a liberal education. He studied law and was admitted to the bar. He started to practice law. At the age of 24, Noonan migrated west, moving to Texas in 1852. He settled in