Taraia Object Is Tree Debris, Not Earhart’s Plane

An expedition led by Purdue University has concluded that the Taraia Object, a submerged feature in Nikumaroro’s lagoon, is washed-up tree debris, not wreckage from Amelia Earhart’s missing aircraft. The finding rules out one potential clue but does not settle what happened to Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, who disappeared in 1937. The team identified the object as a collection of large trees deposited along a sandspit on the remote atoll in Kiribati. Expedition leaders said much of the debris had fragmented and washed away, leaving a smaller, Y-shaped section. Its reflective appearance, which had raised the possibility of aircraft metal, came from a carbonate veneer rather than the plane, they said. The feature drew attention after it appeared in satellite imagery in 2020. Researchers set out to test whether it could be part of Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E, which disappeared during her attempt to fly around the world. The expedition used a magnetometer and sonar in its underwater survey and planned to probe and dredge sediment to inspect the object. The team’s conclusion came after fieldwork on Nikumaroro, where weather had at times delayed operations. Steve...