Pilot believes he may have spotted Amelia Earhart wreckage

Amelia Earhart mystery

Earhart vanished on July 2, 1937, while attempting to become the first female pilot to circle the world. She was joined by her navigator, Fred Noonan. The pair was believed to be lost at sea.

For decades, researchers have tried unsuccessfully to locate Earhart’s lost Lockheed Electra 10E plane. In 2020, researchers identified a satellite image of a “visual anomaly” in a lagoon on Nikumaroro, a small island in Kiribati, located halfway between Australia and Hawaii, according to a news release from Purdue University.

Nikumaroro is 400 miles southeast of Howland Island, Earhart and Noonan’s planned destination.

Amelia Earhart’s plane: Did a pilot find it?

Using Google Earth, a pilot believes he may have found debris consistent with Earhart’s Lockheed Electra near a remote South Pacific island called Nikumaroro. The pilot, Justin Myers, joined NewsNation for his first national TV interview.

“I couldn’t say 100% its a Lockheed Electra, but I’m pretty sure it’s definitely an aeroplane, and it does measure that of a Lockheed Electra 10E,” Myers said.

7/7/1937-Los Angeles, CA-ORIGINAL CAPTION READS: here is one of the last pictures made of Amelia Earhart, missing with her navigator in the mid-Pacific. The picture was made as she completed preparations for her ill-fated flight. Photo shows Earhart seated and staring to her left.
394033 03: (FILE PHOTO) Amelia Earhart stands June 14, 1928 in front of her bi-plane called “Friendship” in Newfoundland. Carlene Mendieta, who is trying to recreate Earhart’s 1928 record as the first woman to fly across the US and back again, left Rye, NY on September 5, 2001. Earhart (1898 – 1937) disappeared without trace over the Pacific Ocean in her attempt to fly around the world in 1937. (Photo by Getty Images)
(Original Caption) Amelia Earhart (1898-1937), American aviatrix, first woman to cross Atlantic. Photograph showing her with airplane.
Portrait of American aviatrix Amelia Earhart (1898-1937), made before her intended trip around the world.
125345 13: Photo of pilot Amelia Earhart standing by her plane. (Photo by Getty Images)

Myers admitted he would love to further investigate the matter on the ground in Nikumaroro, but logistical challenges remain.

“There’s a lot of red tape involved. You have to have permits to go there. It’s not easily accessible. … I’ve been approached by a group of people who are interested in going to Nikumaroro and are trying to obtain a permit. I’ve written to the Kiribati government myself, but none of us have had any response (yet),” he added.