Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan disappeared on July 2, 1937. Since 1988, TIGHAR has been exploring the possibility that the aircraft may have landed on Gardner Island (now Nikumaroro).
The Devastator Project began in 2003. TIGHAR is working with the U.S. Navy to recover a Douglas TBD-1 Devastator torpedo bomber for the National Museum of Naval Aviation. Planning for the archaeological recovery and conservation of the aircraft should be finalized by the end of 2009.