Amelia Earhart's lost, wrecked plane possibly spotted by explorers in Pacific Ocean
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Ocean explorers believe they have a new clue into one of the greatest modern mysteries: the disappearance of Amelia Earhart.
Deep Sea Vision, a South Carolina-based marine robotics company, believes its team, along with archaeologists, may have uncovered her aircraft after sonar equipment unveiled an image that mirrored the unique dual tails and scale of her storied Lockheed Electra aircraft.
Sonar equipment picked up the image westward of Earhart's projected landing point, in a swath of the Pacific Ocean.
Sonar image side by side with Earhart’s Electra at scale. (Credit: Deep Sea Vision)
DSV said they pursued the find under the "Date Line Theory." The theory was formed in 2010 by Liz Smith, a former NASA employee and amateur pilot.
The theory suggests Earhart's navigator, Fred Noonan, forgot to turn the calendar back one day as she flew over the International Date Line. As a result, he may have miscalculated his celestial star navigation, creating a westward navigational error of 60 miles.
DSV's CEO Tony Romeo and his brother Lloyd Romeo dug deeper into the theory, leading them to the possible wreckage.
"We always felt that she [Earhart] 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." Tony Romeo said in a news release. "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."
Original caption: Amelia Earhart Putnam, first lady of the air, plans to fly solo from Hawaii to the United States, according to an announcement recently made.
Earhart was trying to become the first woman to successfully complete a circumnavigational flight of the globe when she disappeared on July 2, 1937. She was last seen in Papua New Guinea and disappeared near Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean.
The aviator was declared dead in absentia on Jan. 5, 1939.
FOX News contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.