S3 Ep40: Project Blackwater - A Chasing Earhart Update
Oct 13, 2026 · 16 min · 10 segments
An update on the Earhart/Noonan case from Chris Williamson.
Oct 13, 2026 · 16 min · 10 segments
An update on the Earhart/Noonan case from Chris Williamson.
As of October the 12th, 2026, the expedition organized by the Archaeological Legacy Institute, with support from Purdue University and the Purdue Research Foundation, has arrived at Nicamaroro.
The team traveled approximately 830 nautical miles before reaching the remote atoll.
The investigative group consists of 17 people, accompanied by a 17-person vessel crew.
Leading the expedition is Dr. Richard Pettigrew, a name you know well if you listen to this show.
He's the executive director of the Archaeological Legacy Institute, and he's leading this newest expedition.
It's a particular location within the island's lagoon, and their target has a name.
The expedition's central objective is to determine whether an unusual shape visible in imagery of the lagoon could be the remains of Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra.
But it is important to understand that at the moment this object has not been identified as an aircraft.
According to the expedition's announced plans, the team will first establish access to the Turaya Peninsula and document the site before disturbing anything.
Their investigation is expected to include photography, remote sensing, sonar, magnetometer surveys, and an underwater excavation when appropriate.
Now this isn't simply a matter of sending someone into the water to see what they can find.
It's an archaeological investigation designed to establish exactly what is there, and potentially what isn't.
Because whether this expedition finds an aircraft, a tree, or something else entirely, a properly documented result will tell us something we didn't know before, and that's progress.
As of October the 12th, 2026, the expedition organized by the Archaeological Legacy Institute, with support from Purdue University and the Purdue Research Foundation, has arrived at Nicamaroro.
The team traveled approximately 830 nautical miles before reaching the remote atoll.
The investigative group consists of 17 people, accompanied by a 17-person vessel crew.
Leading the expedition is Dr. Richard Pettigrew, a name you know well if you listen to this show.
He's the executive director of the Archaeological Legacy Institute, and he's leading this newest expedition.
It's a particular location within the island's lagoon, and their target has a name.
The expedition's central objective is to determine whether an unusual shape visible in imagery of the lagoon could be the remains of Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra.
But it is important to understand that at the moment this object has not been identified as an aircraft.
According to the expedition's announced plans, the team will first establish access to the Turaya Peninsula and document the site before disturbing anything.
Their investigation is expected to include photography, remote sensing, sonar, magnetometer surveys, and an underwater excavation when appropriate.
Now this isn't simply a matter of sending someone into the water to see what they can find.
It's an archaeological investigation designed to establish exactly what is there, and potentially what isn't.
Because whether this expedition finds an aircraft, a tree, or something else entirely, a properly documented result will tell us something we didn't know before, and that's progress.
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