I too had the thought that Amelia Earhart had figured out that the earth wasn't laid out the way we are told, and hence her fateful flight.  I too had heard about her capture and subsequent death at the hands of "the Japanese."  I too wondered if the reason for this was a certain discovery Earhart had made.  This video puts the story in better perspective.  (If the narration is hard too fast and hard to follow, go to YouTube and use the "settings" (gear icon) to slow it down.)