A pilot believes he may have found an image of Amelia Earhart's lost plane using Google Earth, sparking renewed interest in the decades-old mystery of her disappearance.
A seasoned pilot, drawing upon decades of flight experience, believes he may have located an image of Amelia Earhart ’s missing aircraft using Google Earth . Justin Myers, in a recent interview with Popular Mechanics, recounted how he began his search through satellite images of Nikumaroro Island in the Pacific following the viewing of a documentary focusing on Earhart's final, ill-fated flight.
'To be totally honest, my interest started after watching a documentary on the National Geographic Channel. It was the next day when curiosity about Nikumaroro Island took me to looking on Google Earth,' Myers explained. His initial exploration of the uninhabited coral atoll, Nikumaroro, wasn't explicitly geared towards finding the Lockheed Electra 10E. 'I was just putting myself in Amelia and Fred’s shoes,' he clarified, referencing Earhart and her navigator. Myers sought to recreate the pilot's decision-making process, envisioning a scenario where a light twin aircraft would be forced to land due to being lost and running low on fuel, simulating the circumstances Earhart faced.\His approach involved scrutinizing a specific area where he believed an attempt to land might have occurred, which led him to a remarkable discovery. He identified a 'dark-coloured, perfectly straight object' that measured approximately 39 feet, remarkably matching the dimensions of Earhart's plane. 'I used the measuring tool on Google Earth and to my surprise and mild little shiver it measured approximately 39 ft,' he shared in a blog post, reflecting on the experience. 'It looked man-made,' he stated to Popular Mechanics, adding, 'It looked like a section of aircraft fuselage. That was remarkable by itself, let alone the possibility it was Electra 10E NR16020, even though the measurements looked the same.' Earhart’s disappearance occurred in 1937 during her attempt to become the first woman to circumnavigate the globe. She and her navigator lost radio contact on July 2 while approaching Howland Island in the Pacific, situated north of Nikumaroro. The subsequent lack of any discovery has fueled an almost century-long quest by both professionals and enthusiasts to solve the mystery of their disappearance. \Further analysis of the satellite imagery by Myers yielded what he perceived as additional aircraft debris, fueling his belief in a significant find. 'There was an element of luck in spotting that aircraft debris, as Mother Nature had revealed what had been buried on the reef for a long time,' he observed. 'I managed to catch some photos before being covered over again by passing weather systems.' After making his findings, Myers reached out to several relevant agencies but reported a lack of response. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) declined jurisdiction, leading him to file a report with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau without receiving any feedback. He also contacted Purdue University in California and an expedition company in the state, but did not receive a response from either. Myers is not the only individual invested in uncovering the Earhart mystery. In the past year, Purdue University announced an expedition focused on researching the Taraia Object, a visual anomaly located on Nikumaroro, believed by some to be the plane’s wreckage. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery, drawing on a wealth of evidence and a dozen visits to the island between 1989 and 2019, also supports the theory that Nikumaroro is the crash site. Another individual, Tony Romeo, a former Air Force intelligence officer and CEO of Deep Sea Vision, garnered attention a couple of years ago when sonar images from a 2023 expedition revealed what appeared to be a plane on the seafloor near Howland. However, further investigation revealed it to be a natural rock formation. Myers, however, remains confident in his discovery, emphasizing his expertise in vintage aircraft and air crash investigations. 'The bottom line is, from my interests from a child in vintage aircraft and air crash investigation, I can say that is what was once a 12-metre, 2-engine vintage aircraft,' he asserted to Popular Mechanics, while acknowledging that he cannot be entirely certain that it is Earhart's plane. Even if it turns out to be another aircraft, 'then it’s the answer to another mystery that has never been answered. This finding could answer some questions to someone who disappeared many years ago.
Amelia Earhart Google Earth Nikumaroro Island Aircraft Wreckage Missing Persons
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