Purdue University is launching a new expedition to locate Amelia Earhart's missing plane on a remote island in the South Pacific, based on evidence suggesting that it may have crashed there, according to NBC News. The university, which played a role in Earhart's 1937 flight by providing funding and employing her as a career counselor for women, is sending a team to Nikumaroro Island this November.
An expedition will investigate the mysterious "Taraia Object" on Nikumaroro Island, focusing on a "visual anomaly" in satellite imagery that may indicate the location of Earhart's Lockheed 10-E Electra. The object was first flagged in satellite photos following a tropical cyclone in 2015, which may have shifted sand and revealed the plane.
The Purdue Research Foundation has provided the first phase of the expedition with a line of credit of $500,000. The effort was announced by the Purdue Research Foundation and the Archaeological Legacy Institute. "Based on the evidence, we agree with ALI that this 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," said Steve Schultz, Purdue's general counsel, according to NBC News. Schultz noted that both Earhart and her husband, George Putnam, had expressed their intention to return the Electra to Purdue after her flight for study by future aeronautical engineers and aviation students.
Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, was attempting to become the first female aviator to circle the globe when she and navigator Fred Noonan vanished over the central Pacific 88 years ago on July 2, 1937.
"What we have here is maybe the greatest opportunity ever to finally close the case," said Richard Pettigrew, executive director of the Archaeological Legacy Institute, as reported by CBS News. He added, "With such a great amount of very strong evidence, we feel we have no choice but to move forward and hopefully return with proof."
The Taraia Object has eluded researchers since shifting sands caused it to vanish. Pettigrew believes that the size and composition of the object in the satellite photo match Earhart's plane. "What we lack now so far is what you call, what I call the smoking gun evidence," he stated.
Previous expeditions to Nikumaroro Island have uncovered artifacts suggesting Earhart's presence. Pettigrew mentioned that other evidence, including the discovery of American-made tools and a medicine vial, suggests that Earhart may have been on Nikumaroro. The location of the object is close to Earhart's planned flight path and nearly precisely where four of her radio calls for help seem to originate.
However, not everyone is convinced. Ric Gillespie, executive director of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), expressed skepticism about the expedition's chances of success. "We've looked there in that spot, and there's nothing there," he said, according to NBC News. Gillespie, who has led a dozen expeditions over 35 years and recovered other physical evidence suggesting that Nikumaroro is where Earhart landed and died, believes the object in the satellite image is a coconut palm tree with a root ball washed up in a storm. "I understand the desire to find a piece of Amelia Earhart's airplane. God knows we've tried. But the data, the facts, do not support the hypothesis. It's as simple as that," he stated.
Despite Gillespie's doubts, the team from Purdue University and the Archaeological Legacy Institute is pressing forward. The team will embark from the Marshall Islands on November 5, taking six days to reach Nikumaroro by boat. They plan to spend five days on the island to locate the object in the sand and identify if it is indeed the missing plane.
"Purdue Research Foundation began its commitment to Earhart's aeronautical explorations in 1935," said Chad Pittman, CEO of Purdue Research Foundation, as reported by the New York Post. He added, "By embarking on this joint partnership with ALI, we hope to come full circle on our support of Earhart's innovative spirit, solve one of history's biggest mysteries, and inspire future generations of aviators, adventurers, innovators and Boilermakers."
If the initial expedition proves successful, Purdue University stated that a larger excavation effort would be initiated next year to retrieve the remains of the aircraft. "I look forward to collaborating with Purdue Research Foundation in writing the final chapter in Amelia Earhart's remarkable life story," said Pettigrew, according to the New York Post.
Nikumaroro Island, previously known as Gardner Island, lies between Hawaii and Fiji near the center of the Pacific Ocean. The small, remote, and inhospitable island is part of Kiribati and is nearly 1,000 miles from Fiji. The island has been the focus of multiple expeditions over the years, all seeking to uncover the mystery of Earhart's disappearance.
In 2017, four forensic dogs and a team of archaeologists with TIGHAR ventured to Nikumaroro, where the dogs indicated they had detected the scent of human remains, according to NBC News. Despite these efforts, there is still no conclusive evidence that Earhart had landed there.
Amelia Earhart was officially declared dead on January 5, 1939. Various theories have emerged about her and Noonan's fate, including one suggesting that she landed instead of crashed and was marooned on an island where she died. The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard conducted a 16-day search for the missing duo without success.
As the November expedition approaches, the team hopes that the Taraia Object will finally provide the evidence needed to solve the decades-old mystery. "It satisfies all the criteria. Everything fits," Pettigrew said.
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