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Ocean explorer claims he may have found wreckage of Amelia Earhart’s plane in the Pacific

Former US air force officer Tony Romeo says he has collected sonar images of what could be an aircraft on the seabed

A crowd cheers for Amelia Earhart in 1937. Photograph: AP

Mon Jan 29 2024 - 21:57

A modern-day ocean explorer has claimed to have possibly solved one of the great mysteries of modern aviation by publishing sonar images which he claims may show the wreckage of the aeroplane flown by Amelia Earhart at the bottom of the Pacific.

Earhart’s plane disappeared over the Pacific in 1937 as she sought to become the first woman to fly around the world. Ever since then, mystery has surrounded the American aviator’s fate amid intense speculation as to what happened to her.

But Tony Romeo, a pilot and former US air force intelligence officer, told the Wall Street Journal on Friday he may have solved the mystery after he collected a sonar image of what could be an aircraft as part of his quest to find Earhart’s plane.

Mr Romeo, a South Carolina real estate investor who sold his business to fund his search for Earhart’s plane wreckage, posted the images on Instagram. The images show a blurry mass that could – just about – be seen as being plane-shaped. He told the Journal he would now try and get better images.

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“This is maybe the most exciting thing I’ll ever do in my life. I feel like a 10-year-old going on a treasure hunt,” he told the newspaper.

If true, the discovery would be a remarkable achievement. But there have been numerous other attempts to solve the mystery of Earhart’s disappearance.

In 2018, a forensic analysis of bones found on the remote Pacific island of Nikumaroro strongly suggested they belonged to Earhart. The bones had been found in 1940 yet initially assumed to be male. But a new analysis of the results from the remains – the bones themselves having disappeared – suggested their measurements were female and similar to what would have been expected if they belonged to Earhart.

Also in 2018, expedition leaders from the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery said they may have found the wreckage of Earhart’s plane off an island in the south Pacific, citing a plane-like object in a sonar picture. Mr Romeo’s efforts are separate from that earlier expedition. – Guardian

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