There is value in showing respect for the dead, mostly for the benefit of those near death and the grieving families, but the arguments made here seem weird to me. Do we seal homes and turn them into tombs when a person dies inside? Do we leave car wrecks on the side of the road?
If they get lost for 80+ years, yeah, we do. There's a state park not far from me that has a trail that uses an old highway's right of way for a bit. The highway is long long gone, but if you look down from the trail into the gully nearby, you can still make out a few rusting hulks of cars from the 1920's and 1930's that went off the road and were just left there.
A home in which someone died can be used again by another person after proper cleaning and what not. Wrecks on the side of the road are usually removed because they are a danger to other motorists.
In the case of Earhart's plane the air frame and navigation systems are 75ish years out of date so it's not like there is a pressing need to solve a potential safety issue. IMO there is nothing of value to be gained besides "solving the mystery" and perhaps gathering a few personal artifacts that could be displayed in a museum or returned to the families.
> Do we leave car wrecks on the side of the road?
No, but we also don't need 80 years to find car wrecks on the side of the road, and there are various reasons to remove them. This comparison is ridiculous.