After a five-day cruise across the South Pacific, a group of researchers reached the western part of the uninhabited island of Nikumaroro, belonging to the state of Kiribati, on Monday. The expedition was organized by the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) and Purdue University. Its main purpose is to inspect the so-called Taraia object - a mysterious element visible in satellite images from 2020, which may be the remains of Amelia Earhart's plane.
This is the first authorized expedition to Nikumaroro in seven years and the first presence of scientists on the Taraia Peninsula in over 15 years. The Marin research vessel Mainiku brought the team back after traveling 830 nautical miles. There will be five days of intense work waiting for them on site, which may prove groundbreaking for the history of aviation.
However, the expedition encounters serious difficulties. Nikumaroro is inhabited by palm crabs - the largest land arthropods in the world, reaching up to a meter in leg span and weighing over 4 kg. They are dangerous and active, especially at night, which forces the expedition members to spend the night on the ship.
An additional difficulty is the El Niño phenomenon, currently the strongest in the history of measurements. Changing weather and ocean conditions can significantly limit daily access to land, and strong currents and waves make it difficult to safely navigate through the channels located in the reef.
The first day on the island will be devoted to transporting equipment, cutting down vegetation and preparing operational facilities. Part of the team must clear a path through the dense jungle before work moves to the Taraia Peninsula. There, researchers will begin searching for magnetic traces of metals and conduct a visual inspection of the object, which is located only 3 meters from the shore, at a depth of approximately 1.5 meters (depending on the tide).
The plan is to use specialized dredging equipment to mix the sediments and thoroughly examine the find.
Amelia Earhart, an American aviation pioneer, attempted to circumnavigate the world in 1937 with navigator Fred Noonan. They left Lae, Papua New Guinea, heading for Hawaii. Their plane - a Lockheed Electra 10-E - disappeared without a trace on its way to the uninhabited Howland Island, near Nikumaroro, where they planned to refuel.
Earhart's disappearance became a source of speculation for decades. The official version is that the plane had radio problems and crashed into the ocean after running out of fuel. However, according to alternative hypotheses, Earhart and Noonan may have been forced to land on Nikumaroro and died there as survivors.
The research expedition supported by Purdue University consists of 17 people and has a budget of $900,000. Work on the island is expected to last five days. If any pieces of the plane are found, they will not be recovered during this expedition - additional permits are required from the Kiribati authorities.
The mission is intended not only to solve one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century, but also to commemorate the legacy of Amelia Earhart, who worked with Purdue for two years as a women's adviser and an assistant in the aviation department. The university also supported the construction of the twin-engine Electra plane in which Earhart traveled.
Finding Amelia Earhart's Electra plane would be the discovery of a lifetime, emphasizes Richard Pettigrew, head of the Archaeological Legacy Institute.
Purdue's Steve Schultz adds: "It would solve one of the greatest mysteries in the history of aviation, and certainly one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century."
According to researchers, the latest clue in this case is the Taraia object - a shape visible in satellite images, resembling the fuselage and wings of an airplane. They claim that a similar object was already visible in archival photos from 1938. If it turns out that these are indeed the remains of the Electra, it would support the hypothesis that Earhart and Noonan reached the atoll and died there, hundreds of miles from the planned refueling site.
However, there are plenty of skeptics. Ric Gillespie, a renowned researcher and author of the book "One More Good Flight: The Amelia Earhart Tragedy", believes that the mysterious shape is just a fallen tree.
