Expedition Amelia

In his failure to find Amelia Earhart's long lost Lockheed Electra 10E aircraft, famed Ocean Explorer Dr Robert Ballard succeeds in finally ending the speculation Gardner Island (Nikumaroro) is a worthwhile site for continuing exploration and investment in this endeavor. As the narrator acutely declares "It's a nice story. But like all the other evidence obtained here over the decades, there is no provable link to Amelia or her plane." In between a biographical precis of Earhart's life and achievements, and TIGHAR Executive Director Ric Gillespie struggles to explain his "evidence", which on occasion, ended with gestures or statements of bewilderment or confusion, this excellent documentary focuses on Ballard's real science and technological approach to discovering what really happened to America's most famous missing pilot. His skill and experience is on full display as we are invited onto his ship Nautilus and its advanced operations center to watch his excellent team uncover the truth about this isolated pacific atoll - that all of the attention given it is unwarranted and based solely on erroneous supposition. The photography of the region, the island, its surrounding reef wall, and wildlife are extraordinary as is typical of and expected of National Geographic. There is extensive coverage, also, of an archeological team working solely on the island searching for long lost bones previously believed connected to Earhart. The accompanying forensic analysis of their findings are equally as compelling as the search for the missing plane. This is a remarkable account of an adventure in history, archeology, exploration, and oceanography in motion and a great addition to any documentary lover's library. If you are curious about Amelia Earhart, this is MUST SEE TV.