Explorers say Amelia Earhart's legendary plane may have been found

Nearly a century later, the remains of American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart's plane may have been found at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, according to a marine exploration company that released a sonar image on Monday.

The American company Deep Sea Vision (DSV) says that the image was taken after extensive searches in the area west of Howland Island, an uninhabited reef lost in the central Pacific Ocean between Australia and Hawaii.

Amelia Earhart took off with navigator Fred Noonan on May 20, 1937, from Oakland, California, becoming the first woman to fly around the world, five years after becoming the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo.

France Press agency

But the two disappeared on July 2 after taking off from Lae in Papua New Guinea on an arduous 4,000-kilometre journey. They were supposed to refuel at Howland Island, but they never got there.

France Press agency

This disappearance remains one of the most intriguing mysteries in aviation history, spawning dozens of books, films, and somewhat far-fetched theories.

The prevailing hypothesis is that Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan suffered from a fuel shortage and abandoned their twin-engined Lockheed L-10 Electra plane near Howland Island.

France Press agency

According to DSV, a grainy photo taken by the company's underwater robot “reveals lines that correspond to (the model's) unique twin tail and the wingspan of its legendary aircraft.”

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“We always thought she would have done everything to try and land the plane gently, and the plane signature we see in the sonar image suggests that was the case,” DSV chief Tony Romeo said. press release.

The company says it spent 90 days searching an area of ​​13,500 square kilometers of ocean floor, and wants to keep the exact location of the discovery secret for now.