New Expedition Seeks to Locate Amelia Earhart’s Lost Aircraft

Purdue University, where the legendary aviator served as a faculty member, is funding the project.

Ryan Ewing

Thursday, July 03, 2025 at 09:27 AM ET

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Amelia Earhart in the cockpit of her Lockheed Electra 10-E. [Courtesy: Purdue University Libraries]

Key Takeaways:

A new expedition in November will investigate a "visual anomaly" on Nikumaroro island in the Pacific, believed to be the lost Lockheed 10-E Electra of pilot Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan.
Researchers from the Purdue Research Foundation and Archaeological Legacy Institute consider this their most promising lead, as the object in satellite imagery matches the plane's size and composition.
The search location is significant due to its proximity to Earhart's planned flight path, alignment with historical distress calls, and previous discoveries on the island including human remains and artifacts consistent with Earhart's era.
The expedition, partly funded by the Purdue Research Foundation (which also funded Earhart's original flight), aims to confirm the findings and potentially recover the aircraft.

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A new expedition will head to a remote Pacific island in November in what researchers call their most promising effort yet to solve one of aviation’s greatest mysteries—the disappearance of pilot Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan.

The Purdue Research Foundation and Archaeological Legacy Institute announced Wednesday it will investigate a “visual anomaly” spotted in satellite imagery of a lagoon at Nikumaroro, a tiny island between Hawaii and Australia. The object, dubbed the Taraia Object, matches the size and apparent composition of Earhart’s Lockheed 10-E Electra that vanished 88 years ago.