NIKUMARORO, Kiribati— A Purdue University-backed expedition has begun an underwater search for what could be the wreckage of Amelia Earhart’s missing airplane in a remote South Pacific lagoon.
The 17-person Taraia Object expedition, a joint effort involving Purdue University, Purdue Research Foundation and the Archaeological Legacy Institute, began its underwater survey Wednesday at Nikumaroro, a remote atoll about 400 miles southeast of Howland Island, where Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan were supposed to land during their attempted flight around the world in July 1937.
The team is investigating an object in the lagoon known as the Taraia Object. Researchers first noticed it in satellite imagery in 2020, and aerial photographs dating to 1938 also appear to show the object.
The expedition is examining the possibility that Earhart and Noonan landed on Nikumaroro and became castaways after disappearing during their flight.
Researchers began the survey using a magnetometer to detect ferrous metals and side-scan sonar to search for objects on or beneath the lagoon floor. The team plans to analyze the data before using additional techniques, including a hydroprobe and water induction dredge, to investigate identified objects beneath the sediment.
“It’s too early to reach conclusions as we’ve got a lot of science left to apply,” said Rick Pettigrew, executive director of the Archaeological Legacy Institute.
The expedition team traveled five days by sea from Tarawa, Kiribati, to reach the island. Before beginning the underwater work, the crew established staging areas, cleared a trail across the island and conducted an initial survey for surface artifacts.
The expedition also installed a solar-powered technology system to support monitoring equipment, including a remote camera and a water-level sensor. The equipment will collect information about the island’s weather and tidal patterns.
Purdue has a longstanding connection to Earhart. She joined the university in 1935 as a women’s career counselor and adviser in its aeronautics department. Purdue Research Foundation funded her Lockheed Electra through the Amelia Earhart Fund for Aeronautical Research. Earhart intended to return the plane to Purdue after completing her historic flight.
The expedition’s findings have not yet established whether the Taraia Object is an airplane or whether it is connected to Earhart’s disappearance.
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