(WBBM Newsradio) – An expedition searching for Amelia Earhart’s missing plane has concluded that an object spotted in satellite images of a remote Pacific island was likely tree debris, not aircraft wreckage.
The Taraia Object expedition, involving the Archaeological Legacy Institute, Purdue Research Foundation and Purdue University, announced its findings after investigating a lagoon on Nikumaroro in the Republic of Kiribati.
“Instead, we think it’s most likely that the object was a collection of debris that accumulated here,” project director Rick Pettigrew said.
Satellite images first captured the anomaly in 2020. By the time researchers arrived, much of the debris had fragmented and washed away, leaving a Y-shaped segment. Researchers attributed its metallic appearance to a coating containing coral sand.
The team recovered other artifacts, including a steel tube about 30 inches long, that will undergo further study. None provided conclusive evidence connecting Earhart’s aircraft to the island.
Expedition members continue to support the theory that Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan landed on Nikumaroro’s reef and became stranded, but the mission did not establish that account.
“I think eventually someone will find conclusive evidence here to finally put a cap on the mystery,” Pettigrew said.
Earhart and Noonan disappeared July 2, 1937, while flying toward Howland Island during an attempt to circle the globe.
Purdue, where Earhart served as a counselor and mentor to young women, has pledged to continue searching. The Purdue Research Foundation helped fund the purchase of her Lockheed Electra.
