An Amelia Earhart search expedition to Nikumaroro Island is delayed until 2026
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A planned trip by investigators seeking answers about the disappearance of American aviator Amelia Earhart has been postponed.
The Indiana-based Purdue Research Foundation and the Archaeological Heritage Institute in Oregon announced that they have halted the “Taraia Object Expedition” exploration project for now.
The researchers planned to sail from Majuro in the Marshall Islands on Nov. 4 to the remote island of Nikumaroro, which lies roughly halfway between Australia and Hawaii.
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However, a press release stated that the project has been postponed until 2026 due to the start of the South Pacific hurricane season.
“The decision came at a time when the team was awaiting additional permission from the Kiribati government and seasonal weather conditions began over the Pacific Ocean in the winter months,” the statement said.
Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo and nonstop across the United States on August 24, 1932. (AP)
Once on the island, investigators want to determine whether the “Taraia Object,” a visual anomaly captured by a satellite, is actually the remains of Earhart’s plane.
Earhart is known as a pioneer in aviation, and on August 24, 1932, she became the first woman to fly solo and non-stop across the United States.
She once worked at Purdue University in Indiana, serving as a career counselor for women and advising the aeronautical engineering department while living in the women’s dormitory.
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Earhart flew the Electra, which disappeared on July 2, 1937, while en route from New Guinea to Howland Island.
Researchers suggest that Earhart did not fall overboard, but instead went ashore and became stranded on Nikumaroro Island, where she later perished.
The Taraia Object Expedition to Nikumaroro Island will investigate a satellite anomaly that researchers believe may be the missing plane of Amelia Earhart. (Purdue Research Foundation)
President Donald Trump previously announced that he had ordered his administration to declassify and release all government records related to Amelia Earhart.
Steven Schultz, chief legal officer of the Purdue Research Foundation, spoke about Trump’s order at a press conference last month.
“One of the aspects of this message was that it ordered the release of any classified material relating to Amelia and her last flight,” he said. “As far as we know, there is no record; there is no such record that is unclassified.”
The Purdue Research Foundation and the Archaeological Heritage Institute recently announced the “Taraia Object Expedition” project. (Purdue Research Foundation)
Dorothy Cochrane, Smithsonian of the National Air and Space Museum The Earhart expert previously told Fox News Digital that “there’s no real mystery” surrounding Electra’s disappearance.
“Amelia and [navigator] fred [Noonan] They were on the right track. They had a route to nearby Howland Island. … It was a very small island in the middle of nowhere and had radio communications problems; “They couldn’t find him before they ran out of fuel,” he said.
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Many theories about the disappearance have circulated, such as that Earhart was living as a castaway on the island of Nikumaroro, was captured by the Japanese, or was serving as a “US spy” and observing Japanese activities in the Pacific.
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Cochrane said he did not believe these theories.
“The Coast Guard officers waiting for them in Howland have facts to follow, so it would be appropriate to search Howland and the surrounding area,” he said.
