Brief
US marine team sails to Kiribati to probe Amelia Earhart mystery
The expedition, led by Richard Pettigrew, will examine a satellite‑detected object in the lagoon of the remote Phoenix Islands.
By Felo News Desk · Published
A US‑based team of marine archaeologists has set sail for Nikumaroro, an uninhabited atoll in Kiribati, to investigate a satellite‑detected anomaly that could be the wreck of Amelia Earhart’s 1937 Lockheed Electra 10‑E.
What happened
The group left Los Angeles earlier in October and is expected to reach Nikumaroro on Tuesday, Kiribati time. The mission is funded by Purdue University, which has historic ties to Earhart, and aims to determine whether a plane‑shaped sonar image captured six years ago represents the missing aircraft or a natural formation.
What the reports add
The SMH article notes that a previous sonar return turned out to be a pile of rocks, and that the team’s advance work was conducted in Fiji by expedition member Steve Schultz. It also highlights rival explorer Ric Gillespie’s skepticism, citing his prediction that no wreckage will be found and his long‑standing support for the “castaway” theory based on artefacts such as a 1930s cosmetic jar and a jackknife similar to one Earhart carried.
What was said
Richard Pettigrew, head of the Archaeological Legacy Institute, said in a press statement, “Finding Amelia Earhart’s Electra aircraft would be the discovery of a lifetime.” Purdue general counsel Steve Schultz added, “This would be solving one of the great mysteries in aviation history, certainly one of the great mysteries of the 20th century.”
How it came about
The expedition builds on decades of research by TIGHAR and other investigators. Gillespie’s earlier digs uncovered human artefacts and forensic analyses of skeletal remains from the 1940s, which the Purdue team cites as supporting evidence for a crash‑land scenario. The current effort seeks to use modern sonar and underwater imaging to either confirm or refute those earlier findings.
Key facts
- A US‑based marine archaeology team backed by Purdue University departed Los Angeles for Nikumaroro, Kiribati, in early October 2026. (smh.com.au)
- The team aims to investigate a satellite‑detected sonar anomaly in the atoll’s lagoon that may be Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10‑E. (smh.com.au)
- Richard Pettigrew leads the expedition and described finding the aircraft as a "discovery of a lifetime". (smh.com.au)
- Rival explorer Ric Gillespie, co‑founder of TIGHAR, predicts the team will find no wreckage and supports the castaway theory based on artefacts recovered in previous digs. (smh.com.au)
- Previous sonar returns were identified as a pile of rocks, and advance work was conducted in Fiji by expedition member Steve Schultz. (smh.com.au)
Sources
- [1] smh.com.au — originally reported as “Amelia Earhart expedition heads to Pacific atoll hoping to find her plane”
