Nearly nine decades after Amelia Earhart vanished while attempting to fly around the world, a team of researchers is heading to a remote Pacific island to investigate a discovery that could shed new light on one of aviation’s most enduring mysteries.
The expedition, led by researchers from the U.S.-based Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) and Purdue University, is traveling about 830 miles to Nikumaroro Island, where satellite imagery in 2020 identified an object resembling part of an aircraft.
Known as the Taraia object, the formation appears to resemble an aircraft fuselage and tail. Researchers later found the same object in photographs of the island dating back to 1938, raising further questions about its origins.
The team departed Kiribati’s remote capital on Wednesday, October 7, aboard the Marin Mainiku, a vessel operated by Kiribati National Shipping Line. Reaching the island will require navigating a narrow opening in the surrounding coral reef.
For expedition leader Richard Pettigrew, the possibility of finding the missing aircraft is significant.
“Finding Amelia Earhart’s Electra aircraft would be the discovery of a lifetime.”
Earhart disappeared in 1937 while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the globe. She flew a Lockheed Electra 10E with navigator Fred Noonan when the aircraft vanished, leaving unanswered questions about what happened during their final flight.
Amelia Earhart’s disappearance
The prevailing theory is that the plane ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean. Earhart and Noonan are believed to have either died in the impact or drowned after being unable to escape the sinking aircraft.
Now, researchers hope the Taraia object could provide clues about the pair’s fate.
Once on Nikumaroro, the team plans to document the site with photographs and video footage before conducting remote sensing investigations. Researchers will then go underwater to excavate the object for closer examination.
The expedition will also extend beyond the initial discovery site, with the team surveying the surrounding area and nearby islands for debris that may have washed ashore. Any material recovered during the investigation will be transported to the United States and Purdue University for further analysis.
However, the discovery comes with a note of caution. Previous investigations into possible traces of Earhart’s aircraft have produced misleading results.
In 1991, experts believed they had identified a piece of the missing plane, only to discover that it came from an aircraft that crashed during World War II, at least six years after Earhart disappeared.
Another group of scientists has also claimed to have identified the location of the wreckage near Howland Island, based on signals detected using a radio restored from 1937.
Despite those earlier setbacks, the latest expedition offers researchers another opportunity to investigate what may have happened to Earhart and Noonan. Whether the Taraia object is connected to their disappearance remains to be seen.
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