Archives Reveal Previously Classified Communications Records, Maps, and Logs

Upholding President Trump’s September promise, the US National Archives has declassified more than 4,600 pages of radio communications, maps, tables, and logs related to the disappearance of legendary aviator Amelia Earhart. While the move isn’t solving the mystery any time soon, it helps fill in some pieces to a 90-year-old puzzle.

Efforts to uncover the circumstances behind Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan’s loss over the Pacific seemed to randomly gain traction in the last few years, with several intriguing pieces of evidence coming to light. The first was a 2018 study of bones that were found on Nikumaroro in 1940, which were originally dismissed but then found to be a close match to Earhart’s measurements. Then, in late 2023, a company called Deep Sea Vision reported capturing a sonar image of they believed could be an aircraft resting on the ocean floor. Though it was later found to be a rock formation, the surrounding area has caught the attention of researchers.

Most recently, Purdue University has vowed to join the search through the Taraia Object Expedition. The team was originally supposed to depart this month, but pushed the adventure to 2026 due to government red tape and weather concerns. The journey will center on Nikumaroro Island, where satellite imagery shows a visual anomaly known as the “Taraia Object.”

This hopes to provide some of the hands-on proof that researchers desire… but 4,624 pages of newly declassified material certainly provide some meaningful insight in the meantime.

Earhart’s final recorded transmission appears again in the materials: “We are on the line 157 337 wl rept msg we wl rept…,” sent the morning she vanished. Her last confirmed position in the Navy report is documented at 1912 GMT along the 157/337 line, consistent with the long-running Howland Island approach narrative. The new 1937 Navy search report begins immediately after that transmission and outlines a 16-day operation that ran through July 18.

The Navy’s search effort covered nearly a quarter-million square miles through USS Colorado and USS Lexington, while PBY-1 crews swept an additional 25,000 square miles each day. Investigators flagged four possible landing sites, including McKean Island, Gardner Island, McKean Reef, and Sydney Island Lagoon. Observations ranged from disturbed guano beds to possible fire marks to vague sightings of “unusual debris,” none of which could be confirmed.

Seven radio distress signals logged between July 2 and July 6 reappear in the documents, including two near Gardner Island, which continue to feed the Nikumaroro hypothesis. The Navy also recalculated the Lockheed Electra’s fuel endurance to 20 hours and 13 minutes, about forty minutes longer than the Coast Guard’s original estimate, raising the possibility that Earhart may have flown past Howland.

Several previously sealed memos add context to the preparation for Earhart’s world flight. A 1936 Navy communication shows the service planning to assist with refueling and logistics at Midway, though it did not financially support the attempt. Other documents confirm George Putnam’s direct coordination with Navy officials as Earhart’s manager and husband.

The files also include diplomatic material, such as a translated message from Japan offering condolences after the disappearance and detailing orders for Marshall Islands personnel to assist in the search.

Officials say the release is ongoing, with additional records expected as they are vetted for public disclosure.

FMI: www.archives.gov