Plane debris found to be clump of trees; Amelia Earhart researchers leave remote atoll empty handed
A search focused on Nikumaroro
The expedition travelled to Nikumaroro, an uninhabited atoll in Kiribati, hoping to investigate a possible clue to Amelia Earhart’s disappearance. The pilot and her navigator, Fred Noonan, vanished in 1937 while attempting to fly around the world at the equator.
The case has prompted extensive searches and decades of investigation. Nikumaroro has remained a candidate for a possible landing site, partly because earlier visits reported signs of a castaway camp, a 1930s woman’s shoe and glass from a cosmetics freckle cream jar.
Images suggested a metallic glint
Richard Pettigrew, who leads the nonprofit Archaeological Legacy Institute, examined images of the area, including aerial video. He suspected a bright feature in the water might be metallic.
Other longtime Earhart researchers had identified the feature as a fallen tree. The expedition nevertheless went to the remote island to investigate the possibility that it was connected to her aircraft.
University explains the finding
Purdue University said the visual feature was likely a group of large trees washed onto the peninsula’s sandspit. It attributed the apparent shine to a carbonate veneer on the surface.
The university also said other objects found by the team had a similar glossy coating, formed from coral sand. It described the expedition’s result as disappointing but said the mission added another chapter to the search for answers about Earhart.
Key points
- The suspected plane debris at Nikumaroro was identified as washed-up trees.
- Purdue University said a carbonate veneer created the metallic appearance.
- Earhart and Fred Noonan disappeared in 1937 during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe.
- Earlier visits to Nikumaroro reported several items and signs linked to a possible castaway camp.