Brief
Purdue team tackles giant coconut crabs while hunting Amelia Earhart’s plane on Nikumaroro
Researchers from Purdue University began a five‑day search on Nikumaroro, battling giant crabs and preparing sonar and magnetometer equipment.
By Felo News Desk · Published
A team of 17 researchers backed by Purdue University landed on the remote atoll of Nikumaroro in Kiribati on Monday to investigate a satellite‑detected anomaly that could be Amelia Earhart’s 1937 Lockheed Electra, while contending with an infestation of three‑foot‑wide coconut crabs.
What happened
The crew arrived on the island’s southwestern Taraia Peninsula and set up a base on a boat, because the dense population of giant coconut crabs makes shore access hazardous. Over the next five days they will clear jungle vegetation, lay transect lines on the lagoon’s edge and use a magnetometer to detect metal objects beneath the water. The expedition will also deploy sonar equipment to map the lagoon floor and search for any wreckage.
What the reports add
The Independent notes that the crabs, which can weigh up to nine pounds and have a leg span of three feet, are carnivorous and can strip small mammals and seabirds with their sharp claws. It also cites NASA’s earlier finding of a woman’s shoe, aircraft parts and a sextant box on the island in the late 1930s, evidence that fuels the theory Earhart and navigator Fred Noian may have crashed there and been consumed by crabs.
What was said
Rick Pettigrew, who leads the expedition, told the outlet that the mission could finally solve the long‑standing mystery of Earhart’s disappearance. The article quotes no other individuals.
How it came about
The search follows a series of earlier expeditions: a US marine team departed Los Angeles in early October to probe the same lagoon anomaly, and a previous Felo News article on 13 October reported the arrival of the Purdue‑backed crew and the challenge posed by the crabs. The current effort builds on those earlier steps, aiming to combine archaeological fieldwork with modern sonar and magnetometer technology to locate the missing aircraft.
Key facts
- A 17‑person Purdue‑backed team arrived on Nikumaroro on Oct. 13, 2026. (independent.co.uk)
- The island is overrun by three‑foot‑wide, nine‑pound coconut crabs. (independent.co.uk)
- Researchers will investigate a lagoon anomaly using sonar and a magnetometer. (independent.co.uk)
- Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan vanished on July 2, 1937 while flying toward Howland Island. (independent.co.uk)
- Rick Pettigrew leads the expedition and hopes it will solve the mystery. (independent.co.uk)
Sources
- [1] independent.co.uk — originally reported as “Hunt for Amelia Earhart’s plane enters critical phase”
