Purdue-backed expedition seeks to solve Amelia Earhart mystery

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) — The countdown is on for a Purdue University-backed expedition that could help solve one of aviation’s greatest mysteries: The 1937 disappearance of trailblazing pilot Amelia Earhart.

In 30 days, Purdue and the Purdue Research Foundation will join the Archaeological Legacy Institute on a three-week mission to the South Pacific. The team will investigate a plane-like object spotted in the lagoon of Nikumaroro Island, a remote coral atoll long suspected as Earhart’s final landing site.

Three Purdue representatives will be part of the 15-person crew: Alumni Sirisha Bandla and Marc Hagle, both members of the university’s famed “Cradle of Astronauts,” and Steve Schultz, Purdue’s senior vice president and general counsel.

Expedition members will gather on Oct. 30 at Purdue’s Amelia Earhart Terminal before departing for the Marshall Islands. From there, they’ll travel more than 1,200 nautical miles by sea to Nikumaroro, arriving on Nov. 4.

The search will focus on what’s known as the “Taraia Object,” first identified in 2020 satellite images, but visible as far back as 1938 in aerial photos. Researchers will collect video and sonar data before attempting underwater excavation to determine if the debris is Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E.

“Finding Amelia Earhart’s Electra aircraft would be the discovery of a lifetime,” said Richard Pettigrew, ALI’s executive director. “Confirming the wreckage there would be the smoking-gun proof.”

Earhart, who joined Purdue in 1935 as a career counselor and advisor in aeronautics, remains one of the university’s most enduring figures. Purdue originally helped fund her Lockheed Electra through its Amelia Earhart Fund for Aeronautical Research, and her legacy is honored today through campus programs and the newly opened Amelia Earhart Terminal at the university airport.

Schultz said the team feels a responsibility to bring Earhart’s story full circle.

“A successful identification would be the first step toward fulfilling Amelia’s original plan to return the Electra to West Lafayette,” Schultz said.

The expedition is expected to return Nov. 21. Purdue will also release a four-part podcast series, Finding Amelia, beginning Oct. 20 to highlight Earhart’s connection to the university and the upcoming search.

Earhart vanished on July 2, 1937, while attempting to circumnavigate the globe with navigator Fred Noonan. Nikumaroro, located about 400 miles southeast of their intended stop on Howland Island, has remained at the center of speculation for decades.

“Not only are we working to solve one of aviation’s greatest mysteries,” Bandla said, “but we’re honoring a trailblazing woman whose courage inspired generations to take flight.”

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