1938 aerial images of Nikumaroro may shed light on Earhart’s disappearance

The Air Force Museum of New Zealand has released a complete set of 47 aerial photographs of Nikumaroro, a remote South Pacific island where Amelia Earhart may have landed after disappearing in 1937. The images were taken in 1938, and researchers hope they may help clarify what happened to the pioneering aviator and her navigator, Fred Noonan.

Earhart and Noonan vanished on 2 July 1937 while flying from Papua New Guinea to Howland Island during Earhart’s attempt to fly around the world. A team led by archaeologist Richard Pettigrew is now searching Nikumaroro’s lagoon for possible aircraft remains, using a magnetometer and sonar to investigate an object identified in 2020 satellite imagery. The island theory remains unproven, and the photographs are being made available as a resource for further investigation.