New search for Earhart’s aircraft reaches Pacific atoll
A team of researchers will examine an object in a lagoon near Nikumaroro from Tuesday.
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A new expedition to Nikumaroro in Kiribati is seeking clues to the aircraft of Amelia Earhart, which disappeared. The team is examining an object visible in aerial and satellite imagery, but whose identity has not yet been established.
The expedition is travelling from Tarawa to Nikumaroro, a remote atoll in Kiribati’s Phoenix Islands. According to Purdue University, the team consists of 17 participants from, among others, Purdue University, the Archaeological Legacy Institute and Kiribati. The team is expected to arrive on Tuesday.
The researchers are focusing on what is known as the Taraia Object. The object is visible in images of the lagoon and, according to the expedition, could possibly match parts of Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10-E. This is a hypothesis, not an identified piece of wreckage.
Earhart disappeared on 2 July 1937, together with navigator Fred Noonan, while attempting to fly around the world. Her aircraft is believed to have disappeared en route from New Guinea to Howland Island. A major American search at the time produced no conclusive trace.
The expedition plans to conduct several days of research around the lagoon. According to Purdue, maritime archaeology and technical equipment will be used. The researchers will have to establish whether the object actually contains aircraft parts and whether those parts could have come from Earhart’s aircraft.
The location has previously been the subject of searches and theories about Earhart’s final flight. Reuters stresses that the current expedition is primarily seeking to test a new clue. Until physical evidence has been found and examined, the cause of the disappearance remains unknown.
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The text clearly distinguishes between the expedition and the unproven hypothesis about the object. The historical background and current planning have been confirmed by multiple sources.
- confirmed The expedition is travelling from Tarawa to Nikumaroro. — Purdue University describes the departure time and route. source
- confirmed The team consists of 17 participants. — Purdue gives the size of the expedition. source
- confirmed The Taraia Object is a possible clue to Earhart’s aircraft. — The expedition and Reuters describe this as a hypothesis. source
- confirmed Earhart disappeared in 1937 during her round-the-world flight. — CBS and Reuters provide this historical background. source
Editor's note
The expedition, its destination and the research plan are certain. The Taraia Object is only a possible clue; there is no confirmation that it is part of Earhart’s aircraft.Sources
- Earhart expedition update: Crew begins 6-day sea voyage to South Pacific atoll Nikumaroro — Purdue University
- Amelia Earhart expedition heads to Pacific atoll hoping to find her plane — Reuters via Investing.com
- Amelia Earhart investigators begin expedition to study mysterious object in Pacific — CBS News
More on this in Dutch media
- NRC — „amelia earhart”
- NU.nl — „amelia earhart”
- De Telegraaf — „amelia earhart”