SEARCHESExpedition to Search for Amelia Earhart’s Plane Postponed to 2026
A scientific mission to locate Amelia Earhart’s lost aircraft in a lagoon of Nikumaroro Island, has been postponed to 2026. The decision comes as the team awaits additional clearance from the Kiribati government and as seasonal weather challenges kick in over the Pacific Ocean during winter months.
Purdue University, Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) and the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) announced Monday (Oct. 27) that the Taraia Object Expedition, a joint mission to locate Amelia Earhart’s lost aircraft in a lagoon of Nikumaroro Island, has been postponed to 2026. The decision comes as the team awaits additional clearance from the Kiribati government and as seasonal weather challenges kick in over the Pacific Ocean during winter months.
Originally scheduled to launch from Majuro in the Marshall Islands on Nov. 4, the expedition was delayed as the team continues to work through additional stages of the permit approval process with the Kiribati government. A safe departure cannot be later in 2025 with the onset of the South Pacific cyclone season.
The team will continue positive engagement with Kiribati, with plans to go to Nikumaroro as soon as possible and when safe to do so.
The plan will remain unchanged: A field team will depart the Marshall Islands and travel by sea for six days to Nikumaroro to confirm whether the visual anomaly seen in satellite and other imagery in the island’s lagoon is what remains of Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10-E.
“Postponing a complex project like this poses logistical and financial challenges for us and our partners, but we have to take it in stride,” said Richard Pettigrew, executive director of ALI. “We’ve overcome other challenges to this project over the past four years, and we will get past this one, too. Because of the compelling evidence we have in front of us, we have to go to Nikumaroro and get a close look at the Taraia Object. Rest assured that we will do just that, so stay tuned! We will have a revised project schedule worked out soon.”
“Maritime expeditions require thorough preparation and numerous clearances. Our project required many approvals at multiple levels of the Kiribati government, and we benefited from cooperation and assistance from officials in Tarawa,” said expedition member Steve Schultz, Purdue University’s senior vice president and general counsel. “This is a real-time example of Purdue’s well-known ‘persistent pursuit.’ We have gained valuable insights throughout this process and are very confident and resolved to continue this quest with a planned 2026 departure.”
