Renewed Interest in Amelia Earhart's Final Flight
2024-02-01
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1An unclear sonar image recorded by a private pilot has renewed interest in a past mystery: What happened to Amelia Earhart, the pilot who disappeared in 1937 with her plane?
2Many searches have found nothing.
3But Tony Romeo now believes his new South Carolina-based sea exploration company captured a partial image of Earhart's famous plane.
4Researchers and explorers are hopeful.
5But whether Earhart's plane lies at about 4,800 meters beneath the ocean remains to be seen.
6Romeo said he had long held interest in the Earhart mystery.
7So, he bought a $9 million underwater drone from a Norwegian company.
8The drone is called the Hugin 6000.
9It includes the newest technology.
10It can dive down to 6,000 meters.
11A 16-person crew began a search in the western Pacific Ocean in September 2023.
12They searched over 13,400 square kilometers of seafloor.
13The crew searched around Howland Island between Papua New Guinea and Hawaii.
14But it was not until the team looked at the sonar data in December that they saw the unclear yellow outline of what looked like a plane.
15"In the end, we came out with an image of a target that we believe very strongly is Amelia's aircraft," Romeo told the Associated Press.
16The next step is taking a camera underwater to better examine the unidentified object.
17If camera images confirm the explorers' hopes, Romeo said the goal would be to raise Earhart's airplane.
18Romeo said his team undertook the trip to "solve aviation's greatest unsolved mystery."
19Depending on what they find, they might answer if Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, escaped after hitting the ocean, or learn more about what went wrong.
20Earhart and Noonan disappeared while flying from New Guinea to Howland Island.
21That trip was part of her attempt to become the first female pilot to fly around the world.
22She had radioed that she was running low on fuel.
23The Navy searched but found nothing.
24The U.S. government's official position has been that Earhart and Noonan went down with their plane.
25Since then, there have been many theories.
26They include that Earhart was taken by aliens, lived in New Jersey under another name, she was killed by the Japanese, or died on an island.
27"Amelia is America's favorite missing person," Romeo said.
28Sea archaeologist James Delgado said Romeo's possible find would change the story, but "we need to see more."
29"Let's drop some cameras down there and take a look," said Delgado.
30He is senior vice president of the archaeological company SEARCH.
31Delgado said Romeo's search used the newest technologies that were once only available to the government.
32But he said Romeo's team must provide detailed documentation to prove it is Earhart's plane.
33If the object really is the historic aircraft, the question for the team is if it is safe to raise.
34How much of the plane is left would be decided by how smoothly Earhart landed," said Dorothy Cochrane of the National Air and Space Museum.
35"That's where you have to really look at this image and say, 'What have we got here?'" said Cochrane.
36If the discovery turns out to be her plane, international rules for underwater archaeology would suggest that the aircraft remain where it is, said Ole Varmer.
37He is a retired lawyer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and an advisor at The Ocean Foundation, an environmental group based in Washington, D.C.
38Less damaging research can still be carried out to find why the plane crashed, Varmer said.
39Varmer added, "You preserve as much of the story as you can."
40And he said, "When you salvage it, you're destroying part of the site, which can provide information."
41Raising the plane and showing it to the public would likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars, Varmer said.
42And while Romeo could possibly make a salvage claim in a court, the plane's owner has the right to deny it.
43Earhart bought the plane with money raised, at least in part, by the Purdue Research Foundation, Purdue University in Indiana said in a blog. She planned to return the aircraft to the school.
44Romeo said the team believes the plane belongs in the Smithsonian.
45He said the issue likely presents a new kind of legal case.
46He said his exploration company will "deal with those as they come up."
47I'm Gregory Stachel.
1An unclear sonar image recorded by a private pilot has renewed interest in a past mystery: What happened to Amelia Earhart, the pilot who disappeared in 1937 with her plane? 2Many searches have found nothing. But Tony Romeo now believes his new South Carolina-based sea exploration company captured a partial image of Earhart's famous plane. 3Researchers and explorers are hopeful. But whether Earhart's plane lies at about 4,800 meters beneath the ocean remains to be seen. 4How was the object found? 5Romeo said he had long held interest in the Earhart mystery. So, he bought a $9 million underwater drone from a Norwegian company. The drone is called the Hugin 6000. It includes the newest technology. It can dive down to 6,000 meters. 6A 16-person crew began a search in the western Pacific Ocean in September 2023. They searched over 13,400 square kilometers of seafloor. The crew searched around Howland Island between Papua New Guinea and Hawaii. 7But it was not until the team looked at the sonar data in December that they saw the unclear yellow outline of what looked like a plane. 8"In the end, we came out with an image of a target that we believe very strongly is Amelia's aircraft," Romeo told the Associated Press. 9The next step is taking a camera underwater to better examine the unidentified object. If camera images confirm the explorers' hopes, Romeo said the goal would be to raise Earhart's airplane. 10Romeo said his team undertook the trip to "solve aviation's greatest unsolved mystery." Depending on what they find, they might answer if Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, escaped after hitting the ocean, or learn more about what went wrong. 11The mystery of Earhart 12Earhart and Noonan disappeared while flying from New Guinea to Howland Island. That trip was part of her attempt to become the first female pilot to fly around the world. She had radioed that she was running low on fuel. 13The Navy searched but found nothing. The U.S. government's official position has been that Earhart and Noonan went down with their plane. 14Since then, there have been many theories. They include that Earhart was taken by aliens, lived in New Jersey under another name, she was killed by the Japanese, or died on an island. 15"Amelia is America's favorite missing person," Romeo said. 16'We need to see more' 17Sea archaeologist James Delgado said Romeo's possible find would change the story, but "we need to see more." 18"Let's drop some cameras down there and take a look," said Delgado. He is senior vice president of the archaeological company SEARCH. 19Delgado said Romeo's search used the newest technologies that were once only available to the government. 20But he said Romeo's team must provide detailed documentation to prove it is Earhart's plane. 21If the object really is the historic aircraft, the question for the team is if it is safe to raise. How much of the plane is left would be decided by how smoothly Earhart landed," said Dorothy Cochrane of the National Air and Space Museum. 22"That's where you have to really look at this image and say, 'What have we got here?'" said Cochrane. 23What if Earhart's plane has been found? 24If the discovery turns out to be her plane, international rules for underwater archaeology would suggest that the aircraft remain where it is, said Ole Varmer. He is a retired lawyer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and an advisor at The Ocean Foundation, an environmental group based in Washington, D.C. 25Less damaging research can still be carried out to find why the plane crashed, Varmer said. 26Varmer added, "You preserve as much of the story as you can." And he said, "When you salvage it, you're destroying part of the site, which can provide information." 27Raising the plane and showing it to the public would likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars, Varmer said. And while Romeo could possibly make a salvage claim in a court, the plane's owner has the right to deny it. 28Earhart bought the plane with money raised, at least in part, by the Purdue Research Foundation, Purdue University in Indiana said in a blog. She planned to return the aircraft to the school. 29Romeo said the team believes the plane belongs in the Smithsonian. He said the issue likely presents a new kind of legal case. He said his exploration company will "deal with those as they come up." 30I'm Gregory Stachel. 31James Pollard and Ben Finley reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 32______________________________________________ 33Words in This Story 34sonar - n. a device used for finding things that are underwater by using sound waves 35drone - n. a type of small aircraft that flies without a pilot 36aircraft - n. a machine (such as an airplane or a helicopter) that flies through the air 37aviation - n. the business or practice of flying airplanes or helicopters 38navigate - v. to find the way to get to a place when you are traveling in a ship, airplane, or car 39alien - n. a creature that comes from somewhere other than the planet Earth 40archeology - n. a science that deals with past human life and activities by studying the bones or tools of ancient people 41preserve - v. to keep (something) in its original state or in good condition 42salvage - v. to remove (something) from a place so that it will not be damaged, destroyed, or lost