{"id":265806,"date":"2026-07-16T14:26:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T11:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/lost-rachel-hartigan\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T14:26:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T11:26:36","slug":"lost-rachel-hartigan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/lost-rachel-hartigan\/","title":{"rendered":"Lost – Rachel Hartigan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Another screen provided a closer view: bedrock and coral rubble occasionally obscured by a flurry of marine snow. \u201cWe\u2019re looking for colors that aren\u2019t natural to the background,\u201d said Ballard, as he stared intently at the screens from his perch in the back row. On the first night, they found wreckage: items that looked like a propeller, a boiler, a crankshaft, and much more.<\/p>\n

But all were from the Norwich City. It wasn\u2019t what Ballard was looking for, but it answered an important question: How deep could the plane go? The Norwich City debris clustered at depths between 100 to 300 meters. \u201cAnything of similar mass\u2014part of a plane or part of a ship\u2014would have been sliding downslope in that zone,\u201d explained expedition leader Allison Fundis, a former teacher whose superhuman ability to maintain her equanimity made her the perfect counterpoint to Ballard\u2019s relentlessness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really focusing on that zone with the ROV dives.\u201d When the pilots did spot something, their reactions tended to be muted. During one watch, a tube-shaped metallic object hove into view. The Hercules pilot murmured, \u201cIt looks anthropogenic. Should I pick it up?\u201d The answer was yes. After a moment of hesitation, Hercules stretched out its arm, very slowly closed its pincers around the tube, and delicately placed the item into a white storage container on its side.<\/p>\n

What was it? The answer would have to wait until the ROVs were recovered and the box could be opened, which wouldn\u2019t be until the next day. It wasn\u2019t part of Earhart\u2019s plane. Instead, it appeared to be a piece of oceanographic equipment\u2014a sign that other explorers had been here before Ballard. Ballard shrugged off false alarms, especially early in the search. \u201cWe did this for nine days with the Titanic,\u201d he said. Over the course of the expedition, which lasted 12 days, Ballard sent the ship five times around Nikumaroro to map with multibeam sonar.<\/p>\n

He sent the ASV around the island twice to map the shallower areas close to the reef. He sent drones flying over the island to peer into the water where the surf breaks over the reef. He sent Argus into deeper water to do side-scan sonar. And he sent both Argus and Hercules around the island to search for airplane wreckage with their cameras. \u201cWe did the whole enchilada,\u201d says Ballard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s total coverage.\u201d What he learned is that Nikumaroro is a tiny island at the peak of a massive seamount. It drops to the ocean floor in a series of steep cliffs and ramps\u2014most dramatically in the primary search zone. And as with a mountain\u2019s streams, chutes funnel debris down the slopes. Those chutes collect wreckage. Hercules and Argus combed the chutes from top to bottom. Below the Norwich City, the ROVs illuminated propellers, boilers, and other bits of ship for the watching science team.<\/p>\n

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Published by National Geographic Partners, LLC 1145 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036 Copyright \u00a9 2026 Rachel Hartigan. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC and Yellow Border Design are trademarks of the National Geographic Society, used under license. See here for text permissions. Since 1888, the National Geographic Society has funded more than 15,000 research, conservation, education, technology, and storytelling projects around the world.<\/p>\n

National Geographic Partners distributes a portion of the funds it receives from your purchase to National Geographic Society to support their mission to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world. Get closer to National Geographic Explorers and photographers, and connect with our global community. Join us today at nationalgeographic.org\/joinus For rights or permissions inquiries, please contact National Geographic Books Subsidiary Rights: bookrights@natgeo.com Interior design: Nicole M. Roberts Cover design: Pete Garceau Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4262-2254-2 eBook ISBN: 978-1-4262-2552-9 The authorized representative in the EU for product safety and compliance is Disney Trading B.V., Asterweg 15S, 1031 HL, Amsterdam, The Netherlands email: DCP.DL-EU.bookscontact@disney.com OceanofPDF.com TITLE PAGE COPYRIGHT DEDICATION EPIGRAPH PROLOGUE CHAPTER ONE 1937: DISAPPEARANCE CHAPTER TWO 1897\u20131908: \u201cIT\u2019S JUST LIKE FLYING!\u201d<\/p>\n

CHAPTER THREE CAPTURED: JOSEPHINE\u2019S STORY CHAPTER FOUR 1908\u201316: \u201cGREAT STRAIN AND ANXIETY\u201d CHAPTER FIVE CAPTURED: \u201cIT SOUNDED LIKE TRUTH\u201d CHAPTER SIX 1918\u201320: \u201cGETTING EVERYTHING I CAN\u201d CHAPTER SEVEN CAPTURED: \u201cEARHART HOUNDS\u201d CHAPTER EIGHT 1920\u201324: \u201cI WANT TO FLY!\u201d CHAPTER NINE CASTAWAY: THE DESERTED ISLAND CHAPTER TEN 1924\u201328: \u201cA CONSUMING VOCATION\u201d CHAPTER ELEVEN CASTAWAY: TIGHAR BRINGS IN THE DOGS CHAPTER TWELVE 1928: FLIGHT OF THE FRIENDSHIP CHAPTER THIRTEEN CASTAWAY: WHERE\u2019S THE PLANE?<\/p>\n

CHAPTER FOURTEEN 1928\u201332: \u201cAIR-MINDED\u201d CHAPTER FIFTEEN CASTAWAY: BONES CHAPTER SIXTEEN 1932: \u201cBECAUSE I WANTED TO\u201d CHAPTER SEVENTEEN SANK: THE LONGS\u2019 LONG QUEST CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 1932\u201337: \u201cCLEAR THINKING, ENERGY, AND VISION!\u201d CHAPTER NINETEEN SANK: \u201cWHERE THE ELECTRA WILL NOT BE FOUND\u201d CHAPTER TWENTY SANK: A DISCOVERY?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.<\/em><\/p>\n

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