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Federal Amelia Earhart records released

By General Aviation News Staff · November 20, 2025 · Leave a Comment

The federal government has released the first declassified records related to “Amelia Earhart, her final trip, and everything else about her,” according to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard.

Beginning Nov. 14, 2025, records related to Earhart and her disappearance will be released on a rolling basis at Archives.gov/AmeliaEarhart.

One of the greatest aviation mysteries is the disappearance of Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan during an around-the-world attempted flight. Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E disappeared on July 2, 1937, and has never been recovered.

Officials with the Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) and Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) have planned an expedition to locate the aircraft. Originally slated to begin in November 2025, the expedition has been delayed until 2026.

The initial records that were released feature reports, maps, messages, and other documents tracing Earhart’s final flight and the initial search in the immediate days following her disappearance. These materials include newly declassified files from the National Security Agency, information on Earhart’s last known communications and location, weather and plane conditions at the time, and potential search locations, as well as subsequent inquiries and theories regarding her disappearance, according to federal officials.

The online posting of the initial Amelia Earhart files “is the first step towards ensuring that all federal government records related to her disappearance are available online in one place for the first time,” federal officials added. “As agencies continue to search government holdings for additional files, new documents will be uploaded alongside the previously released files to ensure all Amelia Earhart documents exist in a centralized, easily accessible location.”

For more information: Archives.gov/Research/AmeliaEarhart

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