Search for Amelia Earhart's plane to resume once again

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

On July 2, it was announced that a team from Purdue University will be sent to a remote island lagoon in the Kiribati archipelago to resume the search for Amelia Earhart’s plane. Set for fall 2025, the search effort has been reestablished after satellite images showed debris that could possibly be the remains of Earhart’s plane on the island.

Amelia Earhart, her co-pilot Fred Noonan, and their plane disappeared 88 years ago while attempting to circumnavigate the globe. Their disappearance has captivated historians, scientists, conspiracy theorists, and everyday people alike.

Yet beyond the mystery, Earhart’s life and accomplishments remain a lasting source of inspiration.

Early life

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

Born in Atchison, Kansas, Earhart and her little sister Grace, whom she called Pidge, were not raised to be "nice little girls," according to the Amelia Earhart Project’s website.

Queen of the air

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

In 1932, Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic solo.

Last flight, first attempt

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

In March 1937, Earhart flew to Hawaii with fellow pilot Paul Mantz to begin the flight that would have made her the first person of any gender to circumnavigate the globe at the Equator, the earth’s widest point.

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

Earhart, however, lost control of her Lockheed Electra 10E on takeoff and had to send her plane to the factory for repairs.

Last flight, second attempt

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

The pair chose to leave important communication and navigation instruments behind for unknown reasons. One theory is that they wanted to make room for additional fuel for the long flight.

Disappearance

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

Earhart was last heard from on July 2, 1937, when she last communicated with a nearby Coast Guard ship. She, Noonan, and her famed plane were never seen again.

Declared dead

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

Two years later in 1939, the US government legally declared both Earhart and Noonan dead, though their remains were never found.

The plot weakens again

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

After the photo surfaced, however, two bloggers found the original photo in a Japanese photo book displaying a date: 1935, when Earhart was around and well. The mystery continued.

Nikumaroro

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

It had been three years since Earhart had gone missing. The search party also found part of a shoe, apparently a woman’s, an old-fashioned sextant box similar to the kind she used, and a Benedictine bottle, something Earhart was known to carry.

Reexamination of the bones

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

In 1998, a group of researchers from the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery reexamined Dr. Hoodless’s measurements and concluded they could have belonged to a tall woman.

Searching for bones

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

In June 2017, the same international group sent an expedition of archaeologists with forensic dogs to Nikumaroro in search of other bones, but it was unsuccessful.

The working theory

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

The group suggested that Earhart and Noonan may have landed on Nikumaroro and survived for at least several days, sending distress signals.

Modern science

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

Richard Jantz, emeritus professor and director of the University of Tennessee’s Forensic Anthropology Center, set out to conduct a more in-depth analysis.

His findings

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

In his published findings, Jantz concluded that the remains have a high statistical probability of belonging to Earhart.

Research

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

Jantz compared the bones' measurements to Earhart’s measurements taken by a seamstress. The document was kept in the George Palmer Putnam Collection of Amelia Earhart Papers at Purdue University.

1929 shipwreck

Early life, Queen of the air, Last flight, first attempt, Last flight, second attempt, Disappearance, Declared dead, The plot weakens again, Nikumaroro, Reexamination of the bones, Searching for bones, The working theory, Modern science, His findings, Research, 1929 shipwreck

Jantz also considered the possibility that the bones belonged to one of the 11 British men who died near the island in a 1929 shipwreck. However, no documentation supports this hypothesis. Besides, the 2001 search party found a shoe and other objects commonly associated with women at the site.

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