Batesville grad gets behind-the-scenes look at Amelia Earhart expedition

(SEATTLE) – A Batesville graduate is getting a behind-the-scenes experience when it comes to the search for Amelia Earhart’s lost plane. 

Brayleigh Patterson attends Purdue University and is majoring in Aviation. 

She was among a group of Purdue students who were invited to The Museum of Flight in Seattle last week. 

The students met with a group of researchers who will conduct a search for Earhart’s plane in the South Pacific next month. 

“They shared their thoughts and the location of the plane and what they will be doing on the search,” Patterson recalled. 

The search is led by the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) and Purdue Research Foundation.

Purdue has strong ties to Earhart as she served as a women’s counselor at the university from 1935 to 1937. She also flew out of Purdue University Airport in the 1930's.

Patterson also received a behind-the-scenes tour of the museum and also sat in a replica of the plane Earhart had flown. 

“It was crazy to sit in such an older aircraft as I’ve only flown planes with Garmin 1000 displays, so it was really unique to see the instruments that she had used,” Patterson said. 

Patterson is a 2022 graduate of Batesville High School and hopes to work as a corporate pilot following graduation.

The Purdue-led expedition for Earhart's lost plane will set sail on November 4, where the researchers will travel 1,2000 nautical miles to Nikumaroro and then spend several days on the small island in the search effort.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump reportedly sent an executive request to the FBI to find any records having to do with Earhart.