Ocean Explorers Discover Amelia Earhart’s Plane Wreckage After 90 Years

Deep Sea Vision, a private exploration firm, claims it has discovered sonar images that may be the wreckage of pilot Amelia Earhart’s aircraft, which disappeared over the Pacific Ocean Nine decades ago. Tony Romeo, an explorer and former intelligence officer in the U.S.

Air Force intends to confirm the discovery with a mission later this year or early next year. A plane-like object can be seen on the ocean floor in the hazy sonar images taken by a deep-sea drone. The plane is around 160 km from Howland Island, where Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, were meant to refuel during their attempted circumnavigation. Deep Sea Vision’s CEO, Romeo, believes the plane is under more than 5,000 meters.

The pictures match the dimensions and features of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Model 10-E Electra, particularly the tail’s twin vertical stabilisers. According to the concept, Earhart ran out of fuel, made a surface landing, and the plane sank to the bottom with just minor assistance from light currents. At the end of the previous year, a search spanning over 13,400 square km over 100 days was carried out by the 16-person crew of Deep Sea Vision. Romeo stated that the next steps would be to verify the discovery and bring the remains to the surface for restoration, which may take several years.

Who was Amelia Earhart?

Amelia Earhart was one of history’s most well-known aviation personalities, inspiring several dramas, films, and novels. Born in Kansas in 1897, Earhart became renowned for her groundbreaking achievements as a female pilot. Being a woman pilot at the time meant facing numerous challenges. Despite those difficulties, she became the first female pilot to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, breaking other aviation records.

In a twin-engine Lockheed Electra, Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan took off from Oakland, California, on June 1, 1937, on their eastward transcontinental excursion. After travelling 22,000 miles in less than a month, they arrived in Lae, New Guinea, and still had 7,000 miles to travel before returning to Oakland. They had to fly 2,500 miles more after leaving Lae to reach their next destination, the tiny island of Howland in the Pacific Ocean, for refuelling.

Unfortunately, Earhart and Noonan could not reach their destination due to problems with radio transmission and low fuel. There was no evidence of Amelia Earhart or Fred Noonan anywhere, despite intense efforts to locate the plane that ultimately constituted the most costly air and sea search in American history up to that date.

If verified, Deep Sea Vision’s discovery might end the 87-year-old mystery and provide insight into Amelia Earhart’s last hours. External specialists evaluate and demonstrate the sonar visuals; plans are being discussed for a follow-up mission to conduct a more thorough analysis.

Reference: Reuters, CBS News

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