Experts believe they've found Amelia Earhart's long-lost plane in the waters of this uninhabited island
Published on Jul 10, 2025 at 4:04 PM (UTC+4)
by Keelin McNamara
Last updated on Jul 10, 2025 at 4:10 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Amelia Earhart’s disappearance remains one of the world’s great mysteries.
The iconic American pilot was a trailblazer for women in the world of air travel.
Earhart, as well as navigator Fred Noonan, went missing on July 2nd, 1937.
And now experts believe they’ve found Amelia Earhart’s plane.
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Has Amelia Earhart’s long-lost plane been found?
The mystery of Amelia Earhart’s missing plane has captivated the world since its disappearance in July 1937.
Now, almost a century later, experts finally believe they’ve found the plane.
On July 2, the 88th anniversary of the mystery, Purdue University in Indiana announced an expedition to Nikumaroro Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Satellite imagery from a decade ago appears to show a plane-shaped object in the waters.
Those waters of Nikumaroro Island just so happen to be very close to the original flightpath.
This is actually not the first expedition to Nikumaroro Island – as experts have been there before.
It was the previous visit to the Pacific island that recovered bones believed to belong to Earhart.
Investigators at the time also recovered several women’s beauty products from the 1930s.
If the Lockheed Electra 10E did crash here, experts believe it is now buried under sand beneath the waves.
The aircraft-shaped object was only visible in 2015 after a cyclone blew through the area, shifting a lot of sand.
The plan is to start with non-invasive procedures, such as sonar mapping.
All being well, the team will then start drilling to try and make physical contact with the plane.
The last step would be to use a suction dredge to remove sand – which would make the missing plane visible.
Earhart planned to navigate the entire globe
Amelia Earhart’s expedition was ground-breaking.
It was especially ground-breaking for women in the 1930s – being done in tandem with a rise in equality.
Back in 1932, Amelia Earhart’s journey across the Atlantic Ocean was the first solo trip completed by a female pilot.
In 1937, Earhart was even more ambitious, and she planned another history making voyage.
Amelia Earhart’s plan was to become the first female pilot to navigate the entire globe.
The plan was to follow a 26,000-mile flight plan that followed the equator.
Sadly, Earhart was last heard from at Howland Island in the North Pacific.
Hopefully, though, the mystery of Amelia Earhart’s lost plane might finally be coming to an end.
Keelin McNamara is a content writer at Supercar Blondie from Ireland, covering cars, technology, and lifestyle. Despite being a Law graduate, he discovered his passion for journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has worked in the industry ever since. Outside of work, he is an avid MotoGP fan, and is a self-confessed addict of the sport.
