Amelia Earhart's Missing Plane Might Have Been Found

For almost 100 years, the world has wondered what happened to Amelia Earhart and her plane, as the aviator went missing in 1937. 

And now, a group called Deep Sea Vision, which has been searching diligently for Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E in the Pacific Ocean, may finally have the answer. 

The Incredible Life of Amelia Earhart

Even nearly a century after she went missing, Amelia Earhart is considered one of the most famous and adventurous women to ever live.

During her incredible life, Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She also received several awards, was an accomplished writer, and fought for equal rights for women in the United States.

Ameila Was a Wildly Talented Aviatrix

It’s important to understand that while Amelia Earhart was an accomplished pilot, she was so much more. 

She broke several records for speed and altitude, but even more importantly, she was an inspiration to women around the world that they could truly do whatever men could do. Which, at the time, was a groundbreaking thought.

The Great Flight Around the World

In the early 1930s, Amelia Earhart decided she wanted to make another record breaking trip: She would be the first woman to ever complete a circumnavigational flight of the entire planet.

She and her navigator, Fred Noonan, planned their trip meticulously and the first 22,000 miles went exactly according to plan. In fact, when Earhart and Noonan and their aircraft went missing, they only had 7,000 miles left.

The Last Time Amelia Earhart Was Seen Alive

At 10:00 AM on July 2, 1937, Earhart stopped in Lae, New Guinea to refuel, exactly as she had planned.

She and Noonan were due to land on Howland Island 18 hours and 2,500 miles later for more fuel, but they never appeared. 

Authorities Searched 250,000 Square Miles of Ocean for the Famed Aviator

At the time of her disappearance, Earhart was one of the most famous people on the planet. And the world watched patiently while the Navy and Coast Guard searched more than 250,000 square miles of ocean for the beloved celebrity. 

Of course, they focused their search between Lae and Howland Island, but when they found nothing, they expanded the search as far as they possibly could. However, a year and a half after the fuel stop in New Guinea, they finally stopped looking and declared both Earhart and Noonan as dead. 

What Happened to Amelia Earhart?

For the past 90 years, people have been wondering exactly what happened to Amelia Earhart. Experts assume that she could have run out of fuel or hit a patch of bad weather, but no one knows for sure. 

And while the US government stopped looking years ago, one organization called Deep Sea Vision has made it their mission to finally find the missing plane. 

Deep Sea Vision’s Diligent Search

The 16-person team of Deep Sea VIsion has reportedly “scanned more than 5,200 square miles of ocean floor" with an incredibly advanced underwater drone.

They have been hoping that the drone, called the Kongsberg Discovery HUGIN 6000, would enable them to finally find Earhart’s Lockhead 10-E Electra on the ocean floor.

The Deep Sea Vision Team Started at Howland Island

Because Earhart and Noonan were set to land on Howland Island between New Guinea and Honolulu, Hawaii, that’s where the Deep Sea Vision crew started their search. 

And they’ve since reported that just thirty days after their search began, the high-tech drone "captured a fuzzy sonar image of an object the size and shape of an airplane resting some 5,000 meters underwater within 100 miles of Howland Island."

Seeing Something Deep Below the Surface

The drone was hard at work for days on end, so the team at Deep Sea Vision didn’t actually see the “fuzzy sonar image” for another two months, when they were thousands of miles away from Howland Island. 

Now, they plan to head back toward where the drone captured the image that looks suspiciously like Earhart’s plane. They’re planning to send down a camera to collect evidence to support their theory before, eventually, maybe dragging the plane up from the deep. 

Deep Sea Vision Is “Optimistic”

Tony Romero, one of the founders of Deep Sea Vision, is a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer and pilot, and he said in a recent statement, “This is maybe the most exciting thing I’ll ever do in my life.”

And he continued to explain that while he’s “optimistic” this may actually be Earhart’s plane, he and his team are not “saying [they] definitely found her." However, Romero also added that he “[feels] like a 10-year-old going on a treasure hunt.”

The World May Finally Found out What Happened to Amelia Earhart

If the crew of Deep Sea Vision is able to confirm that this is, in fact, Earhart’s plane, knowing where she crashed would be exciting enough on its own.

But if they can find out why she crashed during the second to last leg of her around the world voyage, a mystery almost 100 years in the making may finally be solved.