Looks Like Amelia Earhart’s Long-Lost Plane Has Been Found
- Jul 30
- 2 min read
How, why and where Amelia Earhart disappeared in 1937 has long been a mystery. In November, a team of investigators are setting off to a remote Pacific island to examine possible evidence of her plane in a shallow lagoon.
The expedition hopes to solve the mystery that has captivated the world for 89 years: the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, who vanished during her attempt to become the first woman to circumnavigate the globe via plane, a Lockheed Electra 10-E, in 1937. The team will include researchers from the Archaeological Legacy Institute and Purdue University and they will travel to Nikumaroro, a remote Pacific island between Hawaii and Australia where it’s believed Earhart’s aircraft might be sitting in a lagoon. Why this spot? Well, satellite images show a visual anomaly known as the “Taraia Object” in the area, and evidence from Earhart’s last message and radio signals support the theory that the aviator and her navigator, Fred Noonan, landed the plane on Nikumaroro and then got stranded.
“The evidence supporting the Nikumaroro hypothesis remains compelling, and the only way to answer this question is to go to Nikumaroro, inspect the Taraia Object firsthand, and follow the evidence wherever it leads,” says expedition leader Richard Pettigrew.
“What we have here is maybe the greatest opportunity ever to finally close the case. With such a great amount of very strong evidence, we feel we have no choice but to move forward and hopefully return with proof.”
In addition to the satellite image of the plane-like object, there is the compelling evidence of a discovery nearby in 2012 when researchers found a glass ointment pot on Nikumaroro that had been shattered into five pieces. After reconstructing it, they realized its shape was exactly the same as the jars used to hold Dr. C. H Berry’s Freckle Ointment, a cream from the early 1900s that promised to fade freckles.
Steven Schultz, senior vice president of Purdue University, said the “expedition offers the best chance not only to solve perhaps the greatest mystery of the 20th century, but also to fulfill Amelia’s wishes and bring the Electra home.” So, fingers crossed.
