A deep-sea exploration company believes they've found Amelia Earhart's plane

SALT LAKE CITY — A deep-sea exploration company believes they may have found the wreckage of Amelia Earhart's airplane. Deep Sea Vision, a South Carolina-based marine robotics company, uses autonomous underwater vehicles and other technology to survey the ocean floor. The company set out on a recent expedition to find answers to the 87-year-old mystery of Earhart's disappearance. A pioneer in aviation, Earhart was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean and quite famous at the time of her final flight. Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, disappeared on July 2, 1937, while on a flight to circumnavigate the Earth. The two took off in Lae, New Guinea, on July 2, 1937, and were never seen again. Earhart was legally declared dead on Jan. 5, 1939.Earhart, Noonan, and the plane they were traveling in, a Lockheed Model 10-E Electra, have never been located. Since her disappearance, there has been considerable interest and speculation about what happened to the pair and where possible plane wreckage or remains might be located. Theories, conspiracies, documentaries, and books abounded. Deep Sea Vision announced they had discovered what they believe is Earhart's Lockheed 10-E Electra on Jan. 27.  

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In an Instagram post the company stated, "On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan took off from Papua New Guinea, nearing the end of their record-setting journey around the world never to be seen again. Until today. Deep Sea Vision found what appears to be Earhart’s Lockheed 10-E Electra."

The Date Line Theory

Deep Sea Vision explained on its website that they worked under the belief of the "Date Line Theory," which was originally developed by pilot and former NASA employee Liz Smith. The theory suggests that Noonan, after guiding the flight for almost 18 hours made an error when crossing the International Date Line by not turning back the date from July 3 to July 2. According to Deep Sea Vision, this action would result in a navigational blunder of 60 miles. The theory caught the attention of Tony Romeo, the CEO of Deep Sea Vision, and a search began. For 90 days a Deep Sea Vision team searched 5,200 square miles. The team discovered this sonar image which they believe to be Earhart's plane.The company said they plan to verify their findings, although they did not elaborate on what that process would look like.

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