The photo may be the key to the mystery surrounding the disappearance of aviator Amelia Earhart
Amelia disappeared while attempting to fly around the world in 1937, in what can be seen as another feat of aviation pioneering and the feminist movement in North America. (Read more below). While here in Brazil women were still getting the right to drive, Amelia was conquering the air. Find out who Amelia Earhart is.
Hey amazing This Sunday (4) he spoke with Tony Romeo, leader of the million-dollar expedition that announced it had found the wreckage of the plane and a fan of the mystery of Amelia's story.
“My father was a pilot, my brothers are pilots, and so am I. I love stories about airplanes and puzzles (…) For us here in the United States, this is the biggest puzzle of all. But it was known all over the world.” (…) He She simply disappeared. Can you imagine today that one of the biggest celebrities in the world would simply disappear? That's what happened to her,” Tony said.
Tony's team's mission obtained an unprecedented sonar image of a silhouette very similar in shape to the ship Amelia. (See picture below)
According to Tony Romeo, the photo was taken using sonar from a seaplane drone during a 100-day expedition in the central Pacific Ocean, where Amelia's plane is believed to have crashed. When he first saw the photos, he and his team went crazy.
“It was unbelievable, it was surreal, really. People in the team started screaming, it was one of those moments you never forget and I remember thinking ‘It (the plane) is there!’” No one has seen that plane in 86 years!'” Tony says.
The sonar image is not a photograph: Sonar picks up sound waves, which are translated into low-resolution images. The device also had a camera, but it was just broken. Therefore, Romeo says it's still too early to know for sure, but he says the evidence is strong.
“The wings are at this height, and there are little vertical stabilizers at the back. I can see that very clearly in the pictures, and it's a very similar size body to her plane,” he explains.
To confirm whether this is Amelia's plane or not, Tony's team's idea is to return to the site with a new camera to take clearer and more detailed images, and remove the object from the seabed if possible. This new expedition is scheduled to take place in 2025.
“We need to go down there again, take pictures of the wings, try to find the number R16020 on them, which is on both sides, that will be key,” comments Tony.
Amelia began her journey around the world in Oakland, California, USA. I stopped several times along the way, including in Natal and Fortaleza. Everything was going well until Amelia landed weeks later in Lae, Papua New Guinea.
From there, head towards Howland Island, which is located halfway between Australia and Hawaii. Amelia would stop to refuel on the island on 2 July 1937, but this never happened. In the last communication with the control tower, she said that the fuel was about to run out.
Amelia Earhart: Remember the story of the pilot in the Fantastic Women panel
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