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Two Norwegian vessels are searching for the remains of a seaplane that crashed more than 80 years ago on its way back from the North Pole. It belonged to legendary Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. Anchor Jeb Sharp speaks with Rob McCallum, the leader of the expedition, to find out where they are looking…and why now.

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JEB SHARP: Roald Amundsen has been a hero in Norway for nearly a century. His fame stems from his having led the first expedition to reach the South Pole. But Amundsen’s celebrity is tinged with tragic mystery. He embarked on a rescue mission to the Arctic on June 18^th, 1928. He was trying to save an explorer who’d crashed on his way back from the North Pole. Amundsen’s sea plane went down that night and it’s never been found. Now two Norwegian vessels are searching for it. Rob McCallum is the expedition leader. Rob where are you now?

ROB MCCALLUM: Well hi there. I’m standing on the northern cliffs of Bear Island. They are here in the Barents Sea. It’s late evening here. The sun is setting but because we’re up in Arctic Circle it doesn’t set [INDISCERNIBLE] down on the horizon. So we have this glorious sunset and a freezing cold night.

SHARP: And what evidence do you have? What clues are leading you on?

MCCALLUM: We have three main clues. The first is a fuel tank on the west coast of Norway. And it had been modified after the crash. So we know that people had survived the crash. The other thing we found was a wing [INDSICERNIBLE]. And we found it on the north coast of Norway. So those two items are able to be re-navigated back to the starting point. And the third and most significant clue is a fisherman reported in 1933 pulling out a piece of a metallic object. He didn’t see what it was. The line [INDISCERNIBLE] and I fell back down to the sea floor. And that was just off the coast of Bear Island here.

SHARP: What more are you hoping to find?

MCCALLUM: To be honest we’re not really sure. I mean the … . It depends how the ravages of time have affected the aircraft. We’re confident that if the airplane is here that we at least find the engines. As to the rest of it, I mean it was flying boat from the early 1900s. So it was made of wood and fabric. We don’t know how much that will have been affected by the water here. What we are worried about is the high number of trollers that operate in the area and if one of those has hooked [INDISCERNIBLE] then it’s probably been pretty badly damaged.

SHARP: Does the Roald Amundsen legend loom as large in Norway as Amelia Earhart does here in the US do you think?

MCCALLUM: Oh yes absolutely. And for two reasons. The first that is that like Earhart Amundsen was an explorer. You know lots of tales dare and do. You know tales, passionate tales, of exploration. But more than that, in a Norwegian setting, when Amundsen was doing his concurring of the South Pole Norway was a new nation and they were desperately looking for a figurehead or something to sort of galvanize the national pride behind. And Amundsen was at the spearhead of that.

SHARP: So when you’re on the expedition and you’re thinking about the man and you’ve clearly been immersed in his life and legacy, what’s the most striking characteristic that comes through about him?

MCCALLUM: Well he’s an interesting character. And I think like a lot of explorers he was absolutely focused on his expeditions and so he didn’t have a lot of time for social nicety. I guess if we met him these days we’d probably call him prickly or a little introverted. But in reality I think he was just super focused on what it was that he wanted to achieve.

SHARP: How long will your search go on?

MCCALLUM: We’ll be searching onsite until about the fourth of September. We may extend depending on the number of sonar contacts we have. At the moment we have perfect weather so we’re just going as hard as we can.

SHARP: Rob McCallum is leading an expedition searching for the wreckage of Roald Amundsen’s sea plane. The plane disappeared into the Barents Sea more than 80 years ago. Thanks Rob.

MCCALLUM: Thank you.

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