Nearly nine decades after Amelia Earhart’s mysterious disappearance during her attempt to fly around the world, a new expedition claims it may have finally located her aircraft. Backed by fresh satellite data and a suspicious underwater anomaly, researchers are gearing up for a high-stakes mission to a remote Pacific island that could close the case on one of history’s most enduring aviation mysteries.
The Nikumaroro Hypothesis Gains Ground
On the 88th anniversary of Earhart’s disappearance, the Purdue Research Foundation and the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) announced a joint expedition to Nikumaroro Island, Kiribati. Scheduled for November 2025, the mission seeks to investigate the “Taraia Object,” a visual anomaly believed to be wreckage from Earhart’s Lockheed 10-E Electra aircraft.
Supporting the Nikumaroro hypothesis—that Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan landed on the uninhabited island rather than crashing at sea—researchers have cited compelling evidence, including a woman’s shoe, a compact case, a medicine vial, and a 1930s freckle concealer jar consistent with items owned by Earhart.
A Renewed Search Effort
The upcoming expedition, departing from Majuro in the Marshall Islands on November 5, 2025, will spend five days on Nikumaroro Island. The team aims to inspect the Taraia Object and determine whether it is indeed part of Earhart’s aircraft.
Richard Pettigrew, ALI’s executive director, expressed optimism about the mission, stating, “What we have here is maybe the greatest opportunity ever to finally close the case.”
Skepticism and Hope
Despite the promising evidence, some experts remain skeptical. Ric Gillespie, who has led multiple expeditions to the area, claims the new expedition won’t find anything, suggesting that previous searches have already covered the area in question.
Nevertheless, the expedition team believes that environmental changes, such as sediment shifts, may have previously concealed the wreckage. If the crews are successful in identifying and locating the aircraft.
