One of the greatest mysteries in world aviation, the disappearance of the famous American aviator Amelia Earhart, may be closer to being revealed. A Deep Sea Vision (DSV), a deep-sea exploration company based in South Carolina, has released an image that it claims reveals the remains of Earhart’s plane, which went missing in the Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937.
The expedition led by Tony Romeoformer US Air Force officer and current CEO of DSV, used sonar technology to capture the image at a depth of approximately 5.000 metros. The exact location of the discovery is being kept confidential by the company at the moment, but it is estimated that the plane crashed halfway between the Australia and Hawaii.
Amelia Earhart, aged 39, and navigator Fred Noonan, aged 44, are believed to have run out of fuel during their pioneering attempt to circumnavigate the world in 1937. The prevailing hypothesis is that they abandoned the twin engine Lockheed Electra nearby Howland Island, the planned destination on the route of the epic journey.
The image captured by the unmanned submersible reveals contours that DSV says reflect the unique characteristics of Earhart’s aircraft. Tony Romeo expressed the belief that the aviator may have attempted a soft water landing, suggesting that the aircraft’s signature on the sonar image indicates this possibility. The explorer revealed, in an interview with NBC News, that there are no records of other plane crashes in that region, and even fewer with planes in shapes as specific as Earhart’s.
Continues after advertising Sonar image released by DSV reveals shape similar to that of an airplane. The expectation is that new expeditions will be carried out in order to reveal clearer images of the object – (Deep Sea Vision/Reproduction)
The discovery was based on the application of “Date Line theory”developed by former NASA employee Liz Smith in 2010, which suggests that a celestial stellar navigation miscalculation may have occurred due to a forgotten calendar adjustment while flying over the International Date Line, resulting in a navigation error of 100 km to the west.
The DSV expedition dedicated 90 days to searchcovering an area of 13,500 kilometers squares on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, exceeding in extent all previous surveys combined. The company plans to conduct further search efforts to confirm the discovery.
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However, caution is needed as the image is still blurry, and DSV plans to return to the site with more advanced equipment, including a camera and a remotely operated submersible vehicle, to obtain clearer images and confirm the aircraft’s identity.
The cost of the mission so far has reached the US$11 million (around R$54.4 million), largely financed by Tony Romeo himself, who sold properties to make the expedition viable.
The disappearance of Amelia Earhart is one of aviation’s greatest enigmas, stimulating researchers for decades and inspiring a variety of books, films and theories. The possible discovery of the plane’s remains has added a new dimension to this story and could finally reveal the fate of the legendary aviator and her iconic Lockheed Electra.
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