Amelia Earhart: Researchers claim metal 'patch' found on Pacific island is from aviator’s lost plane
Researchers believe the patch could finally lead to location of Earhart’s missing Lockheed Electra
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An aluminium patch found on a remote Pacific atoll in 1991 has been identified by researchers as a piece of Amelia Earhart’s lost aircraft, and could help solve the mystery of what happened to the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Researchers at The International Group of Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) believe the patch was fitted onto Earhart’s plane during her eight-day stay in Miami, 1937, her fourth stop during her attempt to circumnavigate the Earth at the equator.
“We don’t understand how the patch got busted out of [the plane] and ended up on the island where we found it, but we have the patch, we have a piece of Earhart’s aircraft,” Ric Gillespie, executive director of TIGHAR, said.
TIGHAR has spent millions of dollars searching for Earhart’s missing Lockheed Electra in a project that has involved hundreds of people, and next year it will begin a fresh search for the aviator’s plane based the patch.
The patch, measuring about 19 inches by 23 inches, was discovered by researchers in a 1991 voyage to the island of Nikumaroro, in the Republic of Kiribati, situated between Fiji and Hawaii.
It has been described as being “as unique to [Earhart’s] particular aircraft as a fingerprint is to an individual,” by TIGHAR, due to the size and the pattern of rivets that directly relate to a window on the Lockheed Electra that the patch replaced during Earhart’s stay in Miami.
The organisation is planning on returning to the area next year with its Remote Operated Vehicle on a 24 day expedition, while divers will search for other wreckage at shallower depths.
But the news of the patch has been met with scepticism by some aviation experts. Dick Knapinsky, spokesman for the Experimental Aircraft Association, said: “How do you establish that a piece of aluminium belonged to a certain Lockheed Electra unless there’s a serial number or something on it?”
Additional reporting by Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments