Blurry Apple Maps Object Thought to Be Amelia Earhart's Missing Plane Turned Out to Be Large Trees

Summary

A 17-person crew traveled to a remote atoll in the South Pacific to investigate the so-called Taraia Object, an anomaly on Apple Maps that researchers had claimed was very likely Amelia Earhart's missing Lockheed Electra. After surveying the site, the team announced that the object was not a fragment of the aircraft. Smithsonian Magazine reports that the anomaly turned out to be a collection of large trees.

Timeline

1. Smithsonian Magazine

   22 Oct 2026, 16:20 UTCSource ↗

   Smithsonian Magazine reports that a 17-person crew traveled to a remote South Pacific atoll to investigate the so-called Taraia Object, and after surveying the site announced that the anomaly was not a fragment of Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra, which turned out to be a collection of large trees.