Ekspedicija na Nikumaroro: Može li ‚Taraia‘ konačno razotkriti sudbinu Amelije Erhart?

Suštinsko pitanje o tome šta se dogodilo Ameliji Erhart i Fredu Noonanu ostaje jedna od najvećih misterija 20. veka. Nakon više decenija pretraga i brojnih teorija, tim predvođen Purdue Research Foundation i Archaeological Legacy Institute sprema se za novu ekspediciju na udaljeno ostrvo Nikumaroro ovog oktobra, sa ciljem da ispita vizuelnu anomaliju poznatu kao „Taraia object“.

Plan ekspedicije

Posle godinu dana odlaganja zbog vremenskih uslova i administrativnih dozvola Vlade Kiribatija, 16-člani tim isploviće brodom ka Nikumaroru. Glavni cilj misije je laguna u kojoj su satelitske snimke iz 2020. otkrile nejasan objekat — moguću olupinu aviona Lockheed Electra 10E kojim je Erhart letela 1937. godine.

Metode i fokus

Istraživači planiraju da koriste hidraulični bager za pažljivo uklanjanje slojeva sedimenta u zoni oko „Taraia“ anomalije. Ekipa će tražiti velike delove konstrukcije — trup i krilo — kao i metalne nitne i druge elemente specifične za Electru 10E. Ako se identitet objekta potvrdi, planira se povratak sledeće godine radi potpunog iskapanja i, potencijalno, transporta ostataka u SAD uz prethodni dogovor sa Vladom Kiribatija.

Dosadašnji dokazi i osporavanja

Podržavaoci nikumarorijske hipoteze ukazuju na nekoliko argumenata: konvergenciju radio-azlaza na Nikumaroro, satelitske snimke koje podsećaju na ranije fotografije posle Erhartinog nestanka, antropometrijsku analizu ljudskih kostiju pronađenih na ostrvu i artefakte iz 1930-ih (ženska cipela, tegle sa kremom, medicinske bočice) koji bi mogli ukazivati na prisustvo stvorenja sa teritorije zapadnog sveta.

Ipak, vodeći stručnjaci ostaju oprezni. Dorothy Cochrane iz Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum smatra da dostupni dokazi nisu presudni, a novinarka Rachel Hartigan podseća da je mnogo obećavajućih tragova ranije propalo. Primer iz 2024. kada je dubinska pretraga u području Howland Islanda otkrila stenu, a ne olupinu, ilustrativno pokazuje koliko su ovakve operacije neizvesne.

Istorijski kontekst

Amelija Erhart i Fred Noonan nestali su 2. jula 1937. tokom leta iz Lae (Papua Nova Gvineja) ka Howland Islandu, pri kraju pokušaja da oblete Zemlju. SAD Coast Guard je primala glasovne poruke od Erhart dok je upozoravala da je gotovo bez goriva; nijedno od njih nije poznavalo Morseovu abecedu, pa nije uspostavljena dvosmerna radiokomunikacija. Nakon dve nedelje intenzivne pretrage, koja je bila najveća u istoriji američkih potraga za izgubljenim avionom do tada, potraga je obustavljena, a par je 1939. proglašen mrtvim.

Šta ako pronađu olupinu?

Ako se Electra 10E identifikuje, tim planira da naredne godine sprovede „puno iskapanje“ i da razmotri povratak ostataka u SAD. Purdue University, za koju je Erhart bila vezana kao savetnica, pregovara o skrbništvu nad eventualnim nalazom i najavila je nameru da avion izloži uz dogovorenu saradnju sa Kiribatijem.

"Nešto je tamo, i to je ili Electra ili nije. Neko to mora da utvrdi — i to ćemo mi učiniti," rekao je vodeći arheolog Richard Pettigrew.

Značaj i očekivanja

Bez obzira na ishod, istraživači ističu da sama ekspedicija predstavlja važan korak u proveri jedne od vodećih teorija o sudbini Erhartove. Ako ništa drugo, potraga će doprineti boljem razumevanju arheološkog i pomorskog konteksta Nikumarora i istorije istraživanja u regionu.

Autorski tekst: Christopher Cann za USA TODAY. Prevod i adaptacija za srpski jezik.

The Lockheed Electra 'Flying Laboratory', piloted by American aviator Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan flies over the Golden Gate bridge in Oakland, California, at the start of a planned round-the-world flight, 17th March 1937. The trip had to be abandoned after the plane crashed on take off in Hawaii. A subsequent attempt ended when the aviators went missing in the Pacific and the pair were eventually presumed dead.(Keystone, Getty Images)

American aviator Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly the Atlantic, demonstrates her route for the camera.(Hulton Archive, Getty Images)

US aviator Amelia Earhart, and Captain Raleigh on the roof of the Hyde Park Hotel, London, after she became the first woman to fly the Atlantic Ocean, from Newfoundland to Wales on June 17, 1928).(Hewerdine, Getty Images)

American aviator Amelia Earhart with her pilot Captain A H White, after their trip to Northolt in a moth aircraft in 1928.(H. F. Davis, Getty Images)

Amelia Earhart waves from the cockpit of her plane circa 1929. Earhart disappeared without trace over the Pacific Ocean in her attempt to fly around the world in 1937.(Getty Images)

American aviator Amelia Earhart is surrounded by a crowd of well wishers and pressmen on arrival at Hanworth airfield after crossing the Atlantic in 1932. She is being congratulated on her flight in a Lockeed Vega by Andrew Mellon, US ambassador to Britain.(Topical Press Agency, Getty Images)

Undated picture taken in the 30' s of American female aviator Amelia Earhart at the controls of her plane. Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly the Atlantic as a passenger, in 1928, and followed this by a solo flight in 1932. In 1935 she flew solo from Hawa• to California. In 1937, with Fred Noonan, they set out to fly round the world, but their plane was lost over the Pacific.(STAFF, AFP via Getty Images)

Undated picture taken in the 30' s of American female aviator Amelia Earhart at the controls of her plane. Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly the Atlantic as a passenger, in 1928, and followed this by a solo flight in 1932. In 1935 she flew solo from Hawa• to California. In 1937, with Fred Noonan, they set out to fly round the world, but their plane was lost over the Pacific.(STAFF, AFP via Getty Images)

American aviator Amelia Earhart smiles May 22, 1932 upon arriving in London, England having become the first woman to fly across the Atlantic alone.(Getty Images)

Photo of pilot Amelia Earhart standing by her plane circa 1935.(Getty Images)

Undated picture taken in the 30' s of American female aviator Amelia Earhart in front of her plane. Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly the Atlantic as a passenger, in 1928, and followed this by a solo flight in 1932. In 1935 she flew solo from Hawaii to California. In 1937, with Fred Noonan, they set out to fly round the world, but their plane was lost over the Pacific.(AFP via Getty Images)

Portrait of Amelia Earhart, July 30, 1936.(National Archives, Getty Images)

American aviatrix Amelia Earhartwith her navigator, Captain Fred Noonan, in the hangar at Parnamerim airfield, Natal, Brazil on June 11, 1937.(Topical Press Agency, Getty Images)

American pilot Amelia Earhart greeting the crowds after her solo Atlantic flight from the US to Londonderry, Hanworth Aerodrome, England, May 22, 1932.(Central Press, Getty Images)

American aviator Amelia Earhart at a refueling stop in Khartoum, Sudan, with the Lockheed Electra 10E in which she is attempting a circumnavigational flight of the world with navigator Fred Noonan on June 13, 1937. On a subsequent stage of the journey, Earhart and Noonan disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean near Howland Island and were later presumed dead.(Hulton Archive, Getty Images)

American aviator, Amelia Earhart, in London after becoming the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic on May 22, 1932. Earhart flew from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland to Culmore, Northern Ireland in 14 hours, 56 minutes. She is seen after a second flight from Culmore to London.(Jimmy Sime, Getty Images)

US aviator Amelia Earhart speaks with her navigator, Fred Noonan (R, dark shirt) and technicians near her Lockheed L10 Electra aircraft in July 1937 in Singapore, before their last flight across the Pacific during which she disappeared. US Amelia Earhart was a aviation pioneer and writer, the first woman to fly the Atlantic as a passenger, in 1928, and the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932. She disappeared over the Pacific on July 2, 1937 with Fred Noonan, while they were undertaking a world tour.(-, AFP via Getty Images)

Some members of the expedition will fly out of the Amelia Earhart Terminal at the Purdue University Airport on Oct. 30 and will rendezvous with other team members on Majuro in the Marshall Islands.

Amelia Earhart sits on her Lockheed Electra in March 1937.

American aviatrix Amelia Earhartwith her navigator, Captain Fred Noonan, in the hangar at Parnamerim airfield, Natal, Brazil on June 11, 1937.

Renowned U.S. pilot Amelia Earhart is pictured in this 1928 photograph released on March 20, 2012.

Steve Schultz, Purdue University senior vice president and general counsel, and Richard Pettigrew, archeologist and executive director of the Archeological Legacy Institute, pose for a photograph. The two are part of an expedition seeking to locate Amelia Earhart's long lost plane.