Although many are aware of the mystery surrounding Amelia Earhart, no one truly knows what became of her and her plane. At an early age, Earhart showed her passion for adventure and independence. On May 21, 1937, Amelia Earhart started her journey around the world along with her navigator, Fred Noonan. A few days later, on July 2, she went missing on the way to Howland Island from New Guinea.

One of her last radio transmissions was of her telling the other line that they were running low on fuel. Earhart’s last words were, “We are on the line 157-337 flying north and south.” After the disappearance, the search for Earhart and her navigator continued for sixteen days, ending on July 18th, 1937.

86 years later, there may be a development to the mystery. An ocean exploration company, known as Deep Sea Vision, started an expedition to the Pacific Ocean between September and December. On January 27th, 2024, there was a sonar image of what appears to be Earhart’s twin-engine plane in the Pacific Ocean. Sonar images are able to create an image of an underwater object based on different acoustic techniques. 

The CEO of Deep Sea Vision, Tony Romeo, tells reporters he was not surprised by the intact aircraft. He states, “We always felt that she would have made every attempt to land the aircraft gently on the water, and the aircraft signature that we see in the sonar image suggests that may be the case. We’re thrilled to have made this discovery at the tail end of our expedition, and we plan to bring closure to a great American story.” As of now, there are no further updates. However, they plan to do more research later this year.