Tony Romeo, a South Carolina-based deep-sea explorer, initially believed he had discovered Amelia Earhart’s long-lost plane in the Pacific Ocean. However, he has now confirmed that the object he found was merely a rock formation. Romeo and his team, Deep Sea Vision, had captured a sonar image of an object resembling an aircraft during a three-month expedition to locate Earhart’s Lockheed 10-E Electra. However, new solar images revealed that the object was simply a rock formation shaped like an aircraft.
Romeo, a former US Air Force intelligence officer and pilot, had sold all his commercial properties to fund his search. Despite the disappointing outcome, he remains committed to the search. “While this outcome isn’t what we hoped for, we are continuing our search for another 30 days to cover over 1,500 square nautical miles,” Romeo stated. He also expressed gratitude for the global response to their initial discovery, calling it a testament to Amelia Earhart’s enduring legacy.
Amelia Earhart, a pioneering female aviator, vanished along with her flight navigator, Fred Noonan, during a record-setting global flight in 1937. The pair departed from Lae, Papua New Guinea, intending to refuel on Howland Island before continuing to Honolulu and their final destination of Oakland, California. However, they encountered a strong headwind in Lae, and Earhart’s radio transmissions eventually ceased.
The US Navy and Coast Guard conducted a 16-day search for the missing pair without success. Earhart was officially declared dead on January 5, 1939. Despite numerous attempts and millions of dollars spent over the past nine decades, neither Earhart’s remains nor the wreckage of her plane have been found.
Romeo, along with his two pilot brothers, was convinced they could solve the 87-year-old mystery that has eluded past explorers. He sold his Charleston-area real estate company’s assets to fund his $11 million expedition in the Pacific Ocean. The expedition, which began in September 2023 from Tarawa, Kirbati, a port near Howland Island, involved a 16-person team and an unmanned submersible that scanned 5,200 square miles of ocean floor.
After about a month, the submersible captured a blurry image of an object resembling an airplane more than 16,000 feet beneath the surface within 100 miles off Howland Island. This discovery generated international excitement, despite sonar experts suggesting the images were too unclear to confirm it was Earhart’s plane. Romeo’s latest findings came after his crew embarked on a second expedition to capture high-resolution sonar images of the plane-shaped object.
Despite the disappointing results, Romeo’s company remains committed to its search for Earhart’s wreckage.