Nearly nine decades after Amelia Earhart vanished without a trace, a veteran pilot says modern technology may have revealed a long-hidden clue to her fate.
According to the New York Post, Justin Myers, who spent nearly 25 years in the cockpit, believes he has identified what could be the wreckage of Earhart’s aircraft using satellite imagery from Google Earth.
His search led him to Nikumaroro, a remote Pacific island that has long been considered a possible landing site for Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, during their ill-fated 1937 flight around the world.
Myers said his interest in the mystery was sparked only recently after watching a documentary about the disappearance.
From there, he began analyzing satellite images, approaching the search from a pilot’s perspective.
“I was just putting myself in Amelia and Fred’s shoes,” he told Popular Mechanics.
Relying on decades of flying experience, Myers tried to determine where a pilot might attempt to land under extreme conditions.
“Where I would have force landed a light twin aircraft in their position, lost and low on fuel,” he said.
His attention focused on a flat stretch of terrain on Nikumaroro, where he spotted a dark object that appeared to measure about 39 feet — roughly the same length as Earhart’s Lockheed 10-E Electra.
After further analysis, Myers said he believes additional debris may be visible nearby, including what he suspects could be part of an engine.
“The bottom line,” Myers told Popular Mechanics, “is from my interests from a child in vintage aircraft and air crash investigation, I can say that is what was once a 12-metre, 2-engine vintage aircraft.
“What I can’t say is that is definitely Amelia’s Electra.”
The theory adds to a growing body of speculation surrounding Nikumaroro.
Researchers from Purdue University previously pointed to a 1938 aerial photograph they say offers “very strong” evidence of another anomaly on the island, known as the “Taraia Object.”
The image, captured just a year after Earhart disappeared, appears to show a metallic object submerged in a lagoon.
A team of researchers had planned an expedition to the island to investigate further, but the trip had been delayed until 2026.
For now, Myers’ findings remain unconfirmed — but they have reignited debate over one of aviation’s most enduring mysteries.
