On 8 February 2003 Dr. Robert Friedrichs gave Pete Merlin a tour of the Northrop hangar site at Roach Lake, Nevada. The building was long gone. Only scattered pieces of wood, metal, and glass remained to mark the site. Friedrichs had found some aircraft parts at the site, as well. One aluminum fragment with yellow paint was obviously part of the N-9M-2. A component that appeared to be made of magnesium may have been part of the XP-56. The pieces were apparently removed from the airplanes during maintenance and repair activities. Some of them had Northrop inspection stamps.

Pete returned to Roach Lake with Tom Kinzel on 18 May 2003 to try to find the spot where the N-9M-2 made its belly landing. Using photos taken in 1944, they easily located the spot. No evidence remained, but Pete found one piece of the N-9M-2 near the edge of the lakebed some distance from the Northrop hangar site. The aluminum structure was approximately half of the belly panel that was located just aft of the nose gear door. The internal surface was painted with a dark olive green anticorrosive coating. The exterior surface was painted yellow. The panel showed clear evidence of damage from the belly landing.

During another visit on 21 March 2004, Tony Moore found a circular access panel from the N-9M-2. It also featured yellow paint and damage from the landing accident.