A team of researchers has embarked on a new expedition to investigate a potential underwater wreck believed to be the Lockheed Electra aircraft flown by Amelia Earhart. The mission aims to resolve one of the 20th century’s most enduring aviation mysteries nearly nine decades after Earhart’s disappearance.
The 17-member team, led by archaeologist Rick Pettigrew, departed this week for Nikumaroro, a remote island in Kiribati’s Pacific Ocean territory. Satellite and aerial images have identified an unusual object submerged in the shallows near the island’s Taraia peninsula, with a shape and size that resemble the fuselage and tailfin of Earhart’s plane. The discovery lends possible support to the long-held theory that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, crashed on or near Nikumaroro during their 1937 attempt at a round-the-world flight.
“We have had a long body of evidence pointing to Nikumaroro, but the smoking gun has remained elusive. Now, this could be it,” Pettigrew said. “Someone has to go there and look.”
Earhart, who became the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic in 1932, vanished on July 2, 1937, during the final leg of what would have been a 29,000-mile global journey. She and Noonan lost radio contact while approaching Howland Island, a remote waypoint between Hawaii and Australia, reporting low fuel before disappearing. A subsequent 16-day search involving air and sea units failed to locate any conclusive trace of the aviators or their plane.
The current expedition is sponsored by Purdue University—where Earhart was a faculty member at the time of her last flight—alongside the Purdue Research Foundation and the Archaeological Legacy Institute, led by Pettigrew. Steve Schultz, Purdue’s senior vice president and general counsel, who is also participating as a field assistant, said the university is committed to pursuing the evidence to honor Earhart’s legacy.
The team includes Kiribati government officials, marine archaeologists from Recon Offshore, and experts from previous studies conducted on the island with the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery. Their investigative approach combines drone-based aerial surveys with underwater remote sensing using sonar and magnetometers. A specialized underwater tool called a hydroprobe will emit a water jet to probe the silt surrounding the object, allowing researchers to determine its material properties by feel and sound—hoping to confirm aircraft-grade aluminum. If initial findings are promising, a hydraulic dredge will be deployed to carefully remove sediment and expose the wreck for further examination.
Schultz acknowledged the global attention on the search. “It’s hard to put into words what it would mean to find this is the Electra—an honor and the thrill of a lifetime,” he said.
The expedition represents a significant effort to bring clarity to a mystery that has fascinated historians, aviation enthusiasts, and the public for generations.