It appears that there would be significant questions about ownership and whether maritime salvage laws apply [1]. Remember that Earhart was a faculty member at

It appears that there would be significant questions about ownership and whether maritime salvage laws apply [1]. Remember that Earhart was a faculty member at Purdue University, the aircraft was owned by the university, and it was filled with student experiments. They're going to claim that it still belongs to them. You're going to spend millions to recover it and then immediately get hit with a lawsuit demanding you turn it over to them. By an entity that will have no problem collecting enough donations to fund the best lawyers for as long as it takes. [1] https://www.perthilj.com/blog/2019/2/19/aircraft-salvage-in-admiralty-law https://www.perthilj.com/blog/2019/2/19/aircraft-salvage-in-...