Did they find Amelia Earhart’s missing plane? A researcher confirmed that it was at the bottom of the ocean

The latest adventurer to embark on a quest for the mysterious fate of the iconic aviator Amelia Earhart He maintains that a faint image captured by sonar in 1937 shows the twin-engine plane that disappeared.

Tony RomeoCEO of a commercial real estate investor based in Charleston, South Carolina Deep Sea Vision And a former US Air Force intelligence officer, Earhart has joined the ranks of explorers who have crossed the Pacific Ocean in tireless search for the plane he used during his historic and fateful trip around the world.

In December, Romeo, who had financed his expedition by selling commercial property, returned with a sonar image. An object with the characteristic shape of an airplane on the sea floor. It assures that it is Lockheed 10-E Electra Earhart and experts are examining this new evidence with interest.

Dorothy CochraneAccording to Curator of the Department of Aeronautics at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum The Wall Street Journal, Romeo’s sonar confirms the location of the image, and sonar experts agree that it is unusual enough to require closer inspection.

Romeo intended Return for sharper and more detailed images, He called his discovery “probably the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

“His disappearance was simply unthinkable,” said Romeo. The Wall Street Journal. “Imagine if Taylor Swift disappeared today.”

A pioneer in modern aviation, Earhart’s disappearance remains a fascinating and enduring mystery.

Since Earhart’s disappearance, many entrepreneurs have invested Millions of people searching for their missing plane, So far without success. Romeo’s campaign, which costs the least 13 million dollarsUses advanced technology, including a underwater drone, to scan the ocean floor in the vicinity of Earhart’s last known point, Howland Island.

Although the sonar images captured by Romeo have attracted the attention of experts and enthusiasts, more detailed observations are awaited to confirm the object’s identity and solve one of the great mysteries of the 20th century. Earhart, the disappearance of an international celebrity, continues to capture the collective imagination and fuel hopes of solving the riddle of her fate.

Confirming the discovery presents both logistical and financial challenges, as the expedition requires sophisticated and expensive equipment. At his previous company, Romeo’s team used Underwater drone “Hugin” Manufactured by the Norwegian company Kongsberg, according to The Wall Street Journal. An unmanned submersible used in the expedition scanned an extensive 13,467 sq km area of ​​the seabed, revealing the suspected aircraft resting at a depth of 5,000 metres.

Amelia Mary Arthur was born in Atchison, KansasJuly 24, 1897In a wealthy family, mainly due to the fortune of his grandfather, who was a judge and banker.

He was 18 when he left home to become nurse and care for the wounded of World War I and, later, victims of the Spanish Flu pandemic in Canada.

At age 23, during a trip to Long Beach, California, she was mesmerized by an aerial acrobatics show and boarded a two-seater to fly over Los Angeles. Before the plane took off he made a decision that would mark the rest of his life: learning to fly

She used all her savings to pay for flying classes with another flight pioneer, Neta Snook, the first woman to own her own flying business. In time, the incident would become an anecdote, but after giving her first classes, Snook tried to convince Amelia to abandon her intention to fly because she did not see the conditions for it.

Not only that, it was ignored and became One of the first 15 women to receive a license from the International Aeronautical FederationBut instead persuaded her mother to help her buy a plane: a second-hand yellow Kiner Airster two-seat biplane that she christened “The Canary”.

With that plane she broke the altitude record for women the following year, reaching 4,226 meters. He was 25 years old.

After many records, He just had to go around the world. There was one great obstacle in the challenge, the Pacific Ocean, a vast expanse of water with practically nothing in it and in which the slightest mistake could result in disaster.

The only option was to fly to a small island in the middle of the ocean, Howland Island, a small piece of land two kilometers long and barely half a kilometer wide, which was very close to the limits of autonomy of any aircraft at the time. Refuel there and proceed to Hawaii and then reach the American continent.

It was a feat she could not attempt alone and she chose to accompany her captains Harry Manning and Fred Logan, who would alternate at different stops.

The aircraft chosen was the Lockheed Electra 10E, a twin-engine aircraft that had been suitably modified for flight. A large fuel tank and all the avionics required for instrument flight were added.

On June 1, 1937, Amelia took off from Miami and flew into San Juan de Puerto Rico, making the jump to Africa and skirting the Americas until reaching the Red Sea. From there he flew to Karachi, Pakistan, Calcutta, Rangoon, Bangkok and Bandoing and on to Singapore.

On 29 June they reached Lae in New Guinea. The last stage before “jumping” over the Pacific Ocean. They had flown 40,744 kilometers and only 12,964 kilometers remained to complete the journey.

Amelia and Noonan left Lathi on 2 July with fuel allowing a flight range of 21 hours. About seven and a half hours after takeoff, Amelia reported her position about 30 kilometers southwest of the Nukumanu Islands.

Some radio communications were received from there, but they were too brief for their position from the Coast Guard cutter Itasca, anchored at Holland Island to aid in the flight’s navigation.

Amelia Earhart’s last transmission was received 19 and a half hours after takeoff, in which she said They thought they were in the Holland Island area, but they could not find him. Running out of fuel. All was silent since then.