Amelia Earhart search team paused by severe weather near Nikumaroro

A 17-person expedition searching for Amelia Earhart's lost airplane has been forced to pause field operations near Nikumaroro due to high winds and rough seas, Fox News reported. Purdue University announced in an update that dangerous water conditions made it unsafe to reach the island by transport boat. [1]

Researchers on the expedition are attempting to examine a visual anomaly located in the lagoon of the island, according to Fox News. The team believes the feature, known as the Taraia Object, could be the wreckage of Earhart's Lockheed Electra 10-E airplane. [1]

The search coincides with the release of nearly 50 photos from a 1938 aerial survey of Nikumaroro, the Guardian reported. The Air Force Museum of New Zealand published the black-and-white images to assist public research into the aviator's disappearance. [2]

Earhart was an American aviator who became one of the most celebrated pioneers of early manned flight. She was born in Atchison, Kansas, on July 24, 1897. [3][4]