Sonar Images Capture What Seems To Be Amelia Earhart’s Missing Plane 16,000 Feet Underwater

Amelia Earhart’s disappearance without a trace remains a big blow in aviation history. The trailblazing aviator and her navigator, Fred Noonan, vanished on July 2, 1937, while attempting to navigate the globe. Her last radio transmission hinted at low fuel, and despite extensive searches, neither Earhart nor her plane were located.

Over the years, various expeditions have been launched to uncover the truth behind Earhart’s disappearance, but none have provided definitive answers. However, in a recent development, a South Carolina man claims that he might have discovered the plane Earhart was piloting when she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean.

Former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer Tony Romeo begins search for Amelia Earhart’s plane

Driven by fascination with the legendary pilot, Tony Romeo, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer, embarked on an ambitious quest to locate Amelia Earhart’s lost plane. Romeo invested $11 million to finance the expedition, acquiring state-of-the-art equipment.

RELATED: A Possible Breakthrough Emerges In Search For Amelia Earhart, 86 Years After Disappearance

The expedition, launched from Tarawa, Kiribati, near Howland Island in early September, featured a 16-person crew aboard a search vessel that meticulously scanned 5,200 square miles of the ocean floor.

Tony Romeo discovers sonar images of what looks like Amelia Earhart’s lost plane

Approximately a month into their search, the team detected a sonar image suggesting an airplane positioned 5,000 meters underwater within 100 miles of Howland Island. Strikingly, this image went unnoticed until approximately 90 days into the expedition, when the team scrutinized the data.

Despite the intriguing discovery, opinions among experts vary. Dorothy Cochrane, a curator at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, finds Romeo’s finding compelling, noting that the sonar image’s location aligns with the speculated crash site of Earhart. However, some experts have refrained from confirming the discovery and requested clearer images, including specific details like a serial number matching Earhart’s plane.