After being missing for 82 years, Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Model 10-E Electra plane crash site may have been found off the coast of Buka Island, Papua New Guinea.
Wreckage recovered by divers from Project Blue Angel has led them to believe they have located the plane that belonged to Earhart. They found a piece of glass similar to the that of one of the lights on her plane, however the complete data is still being reviewed by experts.
William Shavely, Project Blue Angel Director was following up on a story heard in the 1930’s from a little boy on Papua New Guinea who “saw a plane- it’s left wing engulfed in flames- crash into the beach.”. As expected, over time the tide would have pulled the wreckage out into the ocean where it became covered in corals. When researchers looked at the last communication from Earhart and Noonan, they found Buka Island to be directly in her flight path.
Amelia’s plane was outfitted with a landing light along with several other modifications for her journey around the world and it is the landing light that got the divers excited. Not only did they find a 6 inch piece of glass similar to what was in her light, but they also found other pieces of wreckage which shared similarities to the modifications on her plane.
While the Blue Angel team is hopeful, they don’t want to jump to conclusions and are waiting for the results to come back from testing.