Amelia Earhart Search Hits Setback as New Expedition Rules Out Key Theory

A new expedition searching for Amelia Earhart’s missing plane has ruled out a leading theory about possible wreckage on a remote Pacific island, dealing a setback to efforts to solve the aviation pioneer’s disappearance nearly 90 years ago.

The Taraia Object expedition found no conclusive evidence that a suspicious feature identified in satellite imagery in 2020, was part of Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10-E, Purdue University and the Archaeological Legacy Institute told Newsweek Sunday.

Researchers concluded the feature on Nikumaroro, a remote atoll in the Pacific nation of Kiribati, was most likely a collection of large trees deposited along a sandy peninsula. By the time the team reached the site, much of the debris had broken apart or washed away, leaving a single Y-shaped fragment.

“Amelia Earhart’s spirit of courage and curiosity drove every step of the search,” said Rick Pettigrew, ALI’s executive director. “We accomplished our goal to determine what the Taraia Object was, and we’re deeply grateful to the private donors who shared our vision and made this journey possible. Our team remains in great spirits and proud of what was accomplished.”

“Perhaps no words better capture this expedition than Amelia Earhart’s own: ‘Adventure is worthwhile in itself,’” said Steve Schultz, Purdue general counsel and expedition member. “We set out to test a hypothesis, not to guarantee a particular result, and we followed the evidence to the end. While the Taraia Object did not prove to be what we hoped, the journey produced new discoveries, added to the world’s knowledge of Nikumaroro, and wrote another extraordinary chapter in a story of discovery and exploration.”

The expedition did uncover other artifacts, including a steel tube approximately 30 inches long in the lagoon, which researchers said would require further study.

Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, disappeared on July 2, 1937, while attempting to fly around the world. The expedition’s findings do not resolve the mystery of their fate.

Despite the Taraia Object setback, researchers continue to investigate the broader theory that the pair landed on Nikumaroro and became stranded there.

“Amelia Earhart never gave up — she kept pushing boundaries and flying into the unknown,” Schultz said. “That same fire fuels our search. She kept flying, and we will keep searching.”

This is breaking news, updates to follow.