President Donald Trump has ordered the release of all government records related to Amelia Earhart’s mysterious disappearance, reigniting public interest and prompting aviation experts to reevaluate the famed pilot’s final flight. The directive followed Trump’s recent announcement on Truth Social, where he stated his intent to declassify all information connected to Earhart, her last journey, and her legacy. As the administration moves to unseal these records, researchers and historians are now considering the possibility that the materials could provide long-awaited answers to the 90-year-old mystery.
Earhart, an aviation trailblazer, is widely known for becoming the first woman to fly solo across the United States nonstop on August 24, 1932. She vanished during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe in 1937, flying from New Guinea to Howland Island, a remote location in the Pacific. Her disappearance remains one of the most enduring mysteries in aviation history. Trump’s announcement on Truth Social emphasized the importance of uncovering the truth behind her final flight, despite the lack of confirmed evidence that any classified records exist.
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s Amelia Earhart expert, Dorothy Cochrane, has expressed skepticism about many of the long-standing theories surrounding Earhart’s fate. She argued that the facts point to the conclusion that Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, were on the right course to reach Howland Island, but were ultimately unable to locate it due to radio communication issues and fuel shortages. She dismissed theories suggesting Earhart lived as a castaway on Nikumaroro Island or was captured by Japan, stating that these ideas lack substantial evidence.
Meanwhile, researchers are turning to new methods of investigation, including satellite imagery analysis, to search for any remnants of Earhart’s plane. The Purdue Research Foundation and the Archaeological Legacy Institute have planned an expedition to Nikumaroro Island, where a potential aircraft wreckage site may be located based on satellite images. The team will examine the