Anyone interested in the hypothesis surrounding the so-called Taraia Object on Gardner/Niumaroro Island, might wish to review these resources from this website.
According to the hypothesis by The Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) with support from Purdue University, after Earhart landed on a particular section of reef on Gardner/Nikumaroro Island, the plane then floated off the reef and eventually made its way into the lagoon and sank there, where what they call the Taraia Object (Earhart's Electra plane) is located.
Various research and analyses from this website contradict the above and are explained below.
If the plane didn't land on the reef, then the Taraia Object hypothesis is flawed from the beginning. Therein lies the problem. The reef landing narrative has persisted for almost 40 years, originally proposed by the TIGHAR.org organization and its founder Ric Gillespie. So far it remains supported by only one piece of evidence, a blurry object in an old photo called the Bevington object that is claimed to be an airplane landing gear and wheel sticking out of the water on that particular reef. Somehow Mr. Bevington, who took the picture while exploring the island and spent several days anchored nearby, did not notice a landing gear wheel sticking 3-4 feet out of the water. Years later, TIGHAR.org members claim to have recognized the object as a wheel after re-examining the photo.
Besides the lack of supporting evidence, the reef landing theory is flawed in other ways, as explained in the following memorandum.
July 10, 2026
This memo argues that it is time to retire the old Gardner Island reef landing theory which is now approaching 40 years old and failed to be proven after numerious attempts. The main argument isn't that it hasn't been proven, but that the numerious preconditions for it to be possible in the first place, are extreemly unlikely.
As pointed out in the above memorandum, one of the preconditions to a reef landing actually occurring is that Earhart got there before the rising tide submerged the reef and made it unusable. For that to happen, Earhart would have had to be about 150 miles off course to the south, presumably due to a strong crosswind from the north. Please read the next memorandum, which demonstrates that the likelihood of that is near zero in this part of the world, which after all is deep in the doldrums where winds are historically very light.
August 1, 2026
This memo uses long-term historical evidence and a modern upper-wind study of Earhart’s route from Lae toward Howland Island. It shows that from nightfall onward she would have encountered only minor headwinds or crosswinds. That finding undercuts the many Earhart theories that depend on strong winds of one kind or another.
The Taraia Object was discovered in Google Earth. Others have also found possible aircraft wreckage elsewhere on the island in Google Earth. Please view the following video, which shows another object elsewhere on the island that clearly matches the shape and dimensions of a Lockheed Electra wing, far more so than the Taraia Object.
July 24, 2026 — 18 minutes.
Compelling new evidence of what may be Amelia Earhart's wing, spotted on Google Earth at Gardner/Nikumaroro Island. Unlike many earlier claims, this object can be matched in both shape and size to her Lockheed Electra aircraft. It sits near one of the most heavily searched parts of the island—and this video shows how easily it could have been missed.
And there are other such possible aircraft wreckage objects inland of the southwest beach of the island, an area that has never been explored." For details, please view the following video.
October 27, 2025 — 10 minutes.
A short followup to my first video that elaborates on the two most important objects, the forward fuselage and detached tail.
If you found the above video interesting, here is a longer more detailed video of the same objects.
October 21, 2025 — 25 minutes.
Evidence of Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra on Gardner/Nikumaroro Island using Google Earth. Located in a new area not previously explored. The aircraft is broken up. There is a fuselage, a broken off tail section, one, maybe two wings and one maybe two engines. On the fuselage, there is one piece of peeled off sheet metal that is positively identifiable as being the same size, shape and location as on an Electra. See starting at 11:10 minutes. Other unidentifiable man-made looking objects in the area. Additional information here.
These and other videos are all listed on the home page of this website.