A new expedition is launching this October to search for the lost Lockheed Electra 10E aircraft flown by pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart, who vanished with navigator Fred Noonan over the Pacific Ocean in 1937. This marks the 20th organized search effort since their disappearance.
The current expedition, a joint venture by the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) and Purdue University, will investigate a suspected plane-shaped anomaly known as the Taraia Object. This anomaly is buried in ocean sediment within a lagoon on Nikumaroro Island, a coral atoll located approximately 350 miles southeast of Howland Island, Earhart's intended destination.
Earhart and Noonan were en route to Howland Island from Lae, Papua New Guinea, on July 2, 1937, attempting to complete a circumnavigational flight. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Itasca was stationed near Howland Island to refuel the Electra. During their flight, the Itasca received voice transmissions from Earhart indicating the plane was running low on fuel. However, due to neither Earhart nor Noonan knowing Morse code, two-way communication was not possible, according to analyses by the Smithsonian Institute.
The prevailing belief has long been that Earhart ran out of fuel and crashed into the Pacific while searching for Howland Island. The U.S. Navy concluded this after their own 16-day search in 1937. However, alternative theories have emerged, supported by sophisticated satellite imagery, reported radio transmissions, and other discoveries. These suggest that Earhart and Noonan may have landed on the Nikumaroro reef, survived briefly as castaways, and that the aircraft was subsequently swept into the sea.
The Nikumaroro theory is strongly associated with TIGHAR (The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery), which has explored this possibility since 1988. TIGHAR conducted twelve expeditions to the island between 1989 and 2017, concluding that any remains of the Electra likely lie in deep water off the island's western edge.
The 16-member Taraia Object Expedition is scheduled to depart in early October. The team plans to spend several days on Nikumaroro, primarily in the lagoon, where they will use a hydraulic dredge to carefully excavate sediment from the area of the Taraia Object. Their primary goal is to identify the largest aircraft components, such as the fuselage and wings, and to look for rivets in aluminum aircraft skin that could be compared for identification.
Should the ALI/Purdue team successfully locate the Electra, they intend to return the following year for a full-scale excavation. Future plans include the potential removal of the aircraft and other remnants for transport back to the United States. Steve Schultz, senior vice president of Purdue University, indicated that the university is in discussions with Kiribati, the nation that governs Nikumaroro, regarding custody of any recovered wreckage.
Earhart's connection to Purdue University dates back to 1935, when she served as a career counselor for women and an adviser to the university's Department of Aeronautics. The Amelia Earhart Terminal at Purdue University Airport is named in her honor.
ALI/Purdue noted that the Taraia Object was identified in satellite imagery in 2020, but photographic evidence suggests it has been in the same lagoon location since at least 1938. Additional supporting evidence includes:
A 1938 photograph showing what appears to be a large object on the reef in the lagoon. Analysis of historical radio signals that suggest Earhart may have been near Nikumaroro. Artifacts recovered from Nikumaroro by TIGHAR, including items consistent with castaway survival. Amelia Earhart was already a renowned pilot before her final flight. Her notable accomplishments include being the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in May 1932, piloting her Lockheed Vega 5B from Newfoundland to Ireland in approximately 15 hours. She was the first woman and second person, after Charles Lindbergh, to achieve a nonstop solo transatlantic flight. Her Vega 5B is displayed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.
Earhart also had a notable friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1933, they took an impromptu flight together from Hoover Field to Baltimore.
Her legacy continues to inspire, reflected in numerous cultural tributes. The U.S. Postal Service issued an airmail stamp featuring her image in 1963. Mattel released an Amelia Earhart Barbie in 2018 as part of its Inspiring Women Series, and LEGO released an Amelia Earhart Tribute set in March 2021. Earhart authored two books, "20 Hrs., 40 Min.: Our Flight in the Friendship" (1928) and "The Fun of It" (1932). A third book, "Last Flight" (1937), was published posthumously using her writings and flight materials.
Though she vanished nearly 90 years ago, flying legend Amelia Earhart never really left us.
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