Aircraft believed to be Earharts

National

By OGIA MIAMEL
A MAN who found the wreckage of an aircraft in a jungle believes it could be the one flown by famous aviator Amelia Earhart in the Pacific during World War I which had been reported missing.
Timothy Joe Aiap told The National that he found the twin-engine plane near Urin village in Kandrian last year while tracking through the mountains.  The wreckage was covered in moss and fungi and camouflaged by the natural canopy of the rainforest.
He noted down the details of its make and brand.
When he returned home, he did a research on Google which confirmed the details of the missing Lockheed aircraft flown by the lady aviator and navigator Frederick Noonan.
They last took off from Lae in July 1937. The information he found included:

  • The United States of America logo designed with a star in the middle and the five feathers to the right. Lockheed was written at the top;
  • The plane name written as Air Craft Burbani. The plane itself is small and red in colour;
  • That it was manufactured by the Lockheed Corporation in California;
  • A small box with “radio receiver” written on it. It was manufactured by the Phil Corporation; and,
  • Human bones inside the plane.

He said it could be the missing plane and urged authorities to contact him. “The plane is on my customary land and I feel responsible to look after it,” he said.
“I want to make this site a tourism area or a national park to protect this important part of history for both countries.”
(Contact Aiap on 7136 7904 or his grandfather George Kivisme on 7546 4393.)