Archive · 10 Oct 2026
Earhart Expedition Searches Pacific Atoll for Missing Plane
Amelia Earhart was a famous pilot who disappeared in 1937 while flying around the world.
A team is traveling to a small island called Nikumaroro to look for clues about her plane.
They think a shape seen in pictures of the island’s lagoon might be part of the plane.
Another experienced explorer thinks it is only a fallen tree.
Some people believe Earhart and her navigator landed near the island, while the US government’s long-held view is that their plane crashed near Howland Island.
The team will search for five days.
They will not take any plane pieces away on this trip.
If they find wreckage, they would need permission from Kiribati to recover it.
A 17-person team backed by Purdue University is sailing to Nikumaroro in Kiribati to investigate a possible aircraft-shaped object in the atoll’s lagoon.
The team believes the object, first noticed in 2020 satellite imagery, could be part of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10-E.
The expedition seeks evidence for the theory that Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan landed near Nikumaroro and died as castaways.
Explorer Ric Gillespie says the object is a fallen pandanus tree and predicts the team will find no significant wreckage.
The five-day investigation is budgeted at $900,000; any recovery of aircraft wreckage would require further approval from Kiribati.
- Who
- A 17-person marine archaeology team led by Richard Pettigrew, working with Purdue University, is investigating; Ric Gillespie disputes its interpretation of the suspected object.
- What
- The team is searching for possible wreckage of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10-E.
- When
- The expedition was expected to arrive on October 13, local time; Earhart disappeared in July 1937.
- Where
- Nikumaroro, in Kiribati’s remote Phoenix Islands.
- Why
- To examine an object seen in lagoon imagery and test whether it could be Earhart’s aircraft.
Expedition’s interpretation
Gillespie’s assessment
Object in the lagoon
Expedition’s interpretation
The Purdue-backed team says the multi-branched shape resembles an aircraft fuselage and wings and may be part of the Electra.
Gillespie’s assessment
Ric Gillespie says the shape is a fallen pandanus tree, pointing to its apparent root ball and branches.
Prospects for finding wreckage
Expedition’s interpretation
The expedition hopes the object will provide evidence that Earhart’s plane reached Nikumaroro.
Gillespie’s assessment
Gillespie believes the plane was swept off the coral flat by tides and says the team will find no aircraft wreckage or other significant evidence.
Where the plane was lost
Expedition’s interpretation
The Nikumaroro castaway theory holds that Earhart and Fred Noonan landed on or near the atoll and died there.
Gillespie’s assessment
The long-standing official US government view is that the aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed near Howland Island.
- Expedition team
- 17 people
- Expedition budget
- $900,000
- Planned time on Nikumaroro
- Five days
- Suspected object first noticed
- In 2020 satellite imagery
- Aircraft sought
- Lockheed Electra 10-E
- Earhart disappeared
- July 1937
- Recovery permission
- Any effort to remove aircraft wreckage would require further permission from the Kiribati government.