The quest for the device of an aviator who disappeared 87 years ago comes up against a common “rock”

Appearances are sometimes deceiving: Deep Sea Vision explorers recently had the bitter experience of this.

While they thought they had found the remains of American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart's aircraft at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, they realized that their image published in January ultimately showed only a vulgar ” rock formation.

“After 11 months, the wait is finally over…”

Deep Sea Vision had published a blurry sonar image, captured by an underwater robot, which seemed to reveal the contours corresponding to the unique model of the aircraft of the aviator who disappeared almost a century ago.

“After 11 months, the wait is finally over and unfortunately our target was not Amelia's Electra 10E – just a natural rock formation,” the marine exploration company announced on its social media channels.

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

A mysterious disappearance

Its disappearance remains one of the most intriguing mysteries in the history of aviation, spawning dozens of books, films, and more or less far-fetched theories. The most popular hypothesis is that Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan experienced a fuel shortage and abandoned their twin-engine Lockheed L-10 Electra near Howland Island. Despite its failure, Deep Sea Vision announced that it would continue its research, extending “over nearly 20,000 km2”.

“The intrigue continues with no evidence ever found of his disappearance,” the company writes. “Let us know what you think – did she run out of fuel near Howland Island?” » asks Deep Sea Vision again.