Search for Amelia Earhart's plane resumes after stormy weather

What the report says

A search for the wreckage of Amelia Earhart’s plane has resumed on Nikumaroro, a remote uninhabited island in Kiribati, after bad weather kept the research team aboard ship for three days. The expedition is looking for clues linked to the American aviator’s 1937 disappearance, focusing on an object seen in aerial imagery in the island’s lagoon that some researchers think could be part of her Lockheed Electra.

According to BBC World News, the team arrived last week and had already started an underwater survey, but strong winds and rough seas delayed the next stage of work. Sirisha Bandla, one of the expedition members, said the crew was eager to land and continue the fieldwork. Purdue University and the US-based Archaeological Legacy Institute are leading the effort.

Earhart vanished while attempting to fly around the world with navigator Fred Noonan, after departing Papua New Guinea in 1937 and aiming for Howland Island. One theory is that she may have reached Nikumaroro instead and died there as a castaway. Supporters of that idea point to historical photographs and the nearby wreck of the SS Norwich City, while skeptics say the object could be something unrelated, such as a fallen tree.

The team has extended its time on the island and has not yet reported any confirmed findings. BBC World News noted that earlier searches in 2019 and 2024 also did not produce evidence that could be verified as Earhart’s aircraft.