Josh Gates tackles aviation's most enduring mystery: the 1937 disappearance of Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan during their attempt to circumnavigate the globe. More than 75 years after Earhart's Lockheed Electra vanished over the Pacific, Gates pursues two competing theories across thousands of miles. He treks into uncharted tribal lands in Papua New Guinea, where locals report finding aircraft wreckage deep in the jungle and possibly underwater just offshore. The expedition then shifts to the remote Pacific atoll of Nikumaroro and ultimately Fiji, following leads on aluminum debris that may match Earhart's plane and the trail of human bones discovered on the deserted island in 1940 by Gerald Gallagher—remains that were shipped to Fiji and subsequently lost.
Mainstream aviation history confirms that Earhart and Noonan departed Lae, Papua New Guinea, on July 2, 1937, bound for Howland Island, and vanished en route despite radio contact with a Coast Guard cutter. Decades of searches have yielded no definitive answers, spawning countless theories. What makes this investigation compelling is Gates's boots-on-the-ground approach to two credible scenarios that have never been fully explored with modern technology. The expedition yields dramatic moments: the team locates what appears to be an airplane engine in Papua New Guinea waters, discovers potential aircraft components, and even finds bone material requiring analysis. Gates balances archaeological rigor with the genuine hope that new evidence and technology might finally solve a mystery that has captivated the world for generations.
Admiral Yamamoto's Bunker, Rabaul
Papua New Guinea · historical
Gates descends into the preserved command bunker used by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto during WWII, examining original writing still on the walls as context for the theater of war in which Earhart disappeared.
Baining Tribe Jungle Crash Site, New Britain
Papua New Guinea · mystery
Gates and historian Rob Rowenson examine a burned aircraft wreck in the jungle near Vunalama village. After analyzing the engine type and undercarriage structure, Rowenson concludes the landing gear does not match the Lockheed Electra and the plane is likely Japanese.
Fiji
Fiji · mystery
Josh Gates concluded his search for Amelia Earhart's remains in Fiji, investigating theories about her final fate.
Japanese Underground Hospital Tunnels, Rabaul
Papua New Guinea · historical
Gates explores the extensive network of Japanese WWII tunnels beneath Rabaul, including the remains of an underground hospital, to understand the density of wartime wreckage in the area and contextualize the search for Earhart's plane.
Lae
Papua New Guinea · historical
Gates meets with a local tribal chief and villagers in the Lae area to gather oral history accounts about Earhart's 1937 visit and reports of jungle wreckage that could be her plane. The village elder recounts stories passed down through generations.
Lae Airfield
Papua New Guinea · historical
Gates visits the site of the old Lae airfield, the last confirmed location where Amelia Earhart was seen alive before her July 2, 1937 departure toward Howland Island. The field is now an overgrown empty lot used for shipping containers.
Navala Village, Viti Levu
Fiji · mystery
Gates travels to the remote traditional village of Navala to search for a man believed to have inherited a box of bones that may be the missing Nikumaroro remains linked to Earhart. After conducting a kava ceremony with the chief and searching hut-to-hut, he learns the man has died without leaving the box.
Nikumaroro
Kiribati · mystery
Nikumaroro atoll is the central focus of the TIGHAR theory that Earhart landed there as a castaway after missing Howland Island. The episode centers on evidence found there including a piece of aluminum matching Earhart's plane and partial human bones discovered in 1940.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea · mystery
Josh Gates trekked to uncharted tribal lands searching for new evidence on Amelia Earhart's disappearance and potential remains.
Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea · historical
Gates arrives in the capital of Papua New Guinea as his base of operations for investigating the theory that Earhart crash-landed in PNG after disappearing in 1937. He meets local security contacts and explores the city before heading to Lae.
Rabaul
Papua New Guinea · historical
Gates travels to Rabaul on the island of New Britain to investigate two leads: jungle wreckage reported by the Baining tribe and underwater wreckage in the harbor. He also explores extensive WWII Japanese tunnels and Admiral Yamamoto's bunker.
Rabaul Harbor
Papua New Guinea · mystery
Gates and dive expert Rod Pierce use side-scan sonar to search Rabaul harbor for underwater wreckage matching Earhart's Electra. They locate a large WWII-era ship, a Japanese Zero fighter, and a Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber with crew remains still inside.
Suva
Fiji · mystery
Gates arrives in Fiji's capital to follow up on reports that bones recovered from Nikumaroro in 1940 and later brought to Fiji have gone missing. He meets with the editor of the Fiji Sun and later with John Grey, who as a boy found a box of bones under his house that may be the missing remains.
Vunalama Village, New Britain
Papua New Guinea · mystery
Gates helicopters 40 miles inland to the remote Baining tribe village of Vunalama to investigate reports of airplane wreckage found in the surrounding jungle that some believe could be Earhart's Electra. He is welcomed with a sing-sing ceremony and a sacred fire dance.
Wilmington, Delaware
United States · historical
Gates interviews Ric Gillespie, executive director of TIGHAR, who presents evidence that Earhart crash-landed on Nikumaroro atoll, including a recently identified aluminum patch matching her plane's unique rivet pattern and forensic analysis of bones found on the island in 1940.
“Amelia Earhart is on one of the final legs”