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Kiribati Team Deploys Sonar to Investigate Tara Object

By Drooid · Oct 2, 2026, 3:04 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Kiribati researchers led by Dr. Richard Pettigrew launched an expedition to Nikumaroro to investigate the Tara Object.
Purdue University and the Archaeological Legacy Institute funded the team, which will deploy sonar, magnetometer, drones, and divers.
Satellite images on April 27, 2015, after Cyclone Pam, showed a reflective, elongated shape matching an Electra fuselage and tail.
Purdue will plan a full excavation next year if the object is confirmed as the Electra.

History

Historical Context

In July 1937 Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan vanished while trying to reach Howland Island, prompting a U.S. Navy-Coast Guard search that cost $4 million and ended on July 19. Decades of speculation shifted to the Gardner Island (Nikumaroro) hypothesis, pursued by TIGHAR and now by Purdue-backed researcher Dr. Richard Pettigrew, who is scanning the atoll with sonar and drones.

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Story summary

Kiribati researchers led by Dr. Richard Pettigrew launched an expedition to Nikumaroro to investigate the Tara Object.
Purdue University and the Archaeological Legacy Institute funded the team, which will deploy sonar, magnetometer, drones, and divers.
Satellite images on April 27, 2015, after Cyclone Pam, showed a reflective, elongated shape matching an Electra fuselage and tail.
Purdue will plan a full excavation next year if the object is confirmed as the Electra.

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