Earhart wanted to guide her aircraft forty-three thousand kilometers around the equator. Fred Noonan served as navigator for the flight. His job was to plot the plane’s movement.

Earhart and Noonan had completed their planned trip over South America, Africa and Asia when they stopped in New Guinea for fuel. After that, they seemingly did not touch land again. Their bodies and parts of their plane were never found.

CHRISTOPHER CRUISE: Bones that might help solve the mystery were discovered last year on the unpopulated Pacific island of Nikumaroro. The island was known as Gardner Island in Earhart’s time.

It is about three thousand kilometers south of Hawaii.

Nikumaroro Island could have been on Earhart’s way to Howland Island. Her flight plan called for her to stop on Howland to refuel her specially-designed Lockheed Electra plane.

Scientists are testing bone from Nikumaroro to learn if DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, can be recovered from it. DNA contains all the genetic information about an organism. If researchers find human DNA, it can be compared with DNA provided by a member of Amelia Earhart’s family. The long-time mystery of how Earhart died could be solved if the two DNA samples show family similarities.

An organization interested in aircraft and flight history found the bone material and other objects on Nikumaroro. Volunteers who belong to the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery had explored the island repeatedly in the past.