Renewed intrigue over vanished pilot Amelia Earhart surfacing in Newfoundland, a site of her flights
Deep-sea exploration company says it may have found Earhart's plane
The disappearance of Amelia Earhart has intrigued experts, aviation enthusiasts, and the public for decades, especially those who live in the small Newfoundland town of Harbour Grace.
Earhart took off from the town in 1932 in a bright red plane, the start of what would become a historic trip that would make her the first woman to complete a solo, non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
A handful of years later, in 1937, she disappeared. Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean on her journey to become the first female pilot to fly around the world.
Now, more than nine decades after her disappearance, ocean exploration company Deep Sea Vision says it may have found the wreckage of Earhart's plane, renewing enthusiasm for the famous pilot in Harbour Grace.
The evidence isn't yet enough to close the case of her disappearance. But it's an encouraging piece of the puzzle that could hopefully provide closure to many in the area, said Patrick Collins, an author and former chair of the town's Conception Bay Museum.
"While there's many feats that we talk about in our display, in our exhibit, the fact that she disappeared, the mystery of her disappearance maybe highlights our whole story," said Collins.
The museum has an exhibit dedicated to Earhart and her connection to Harbour Grace, and a statue of the pilot stands off Harvey Road in town.
"We don't know, but we'll keep our fingers crossed," said Collins of the new evidence. "I think everybody all around the world is kind of hoping that this will solve it."
Sonar image of long-lost plane
Deep Sea Vision captured a sonar image of what it believes could be Earhart's Lockheed Electra plane.
She and Noonan disappeared during the flight's most challenging leg, from Papua New Guinea to Howland Island in the central Pacific Ocean.
Earhart was declared dead on Jan. 5, 1939.
Collins says he's heard many theories about Earhart's disappearance, but all have been disproved. The sonar image, which depicts an object Deep Sea Vision says is similar in size and shape to Earhart's plane, is encouraging to Collins.
"It's the most credible possibility that I've seen," he said.
Kim Winsor, a pilot and captain with Air Canada, is also excited by the discovery.
"This will provide closure," said Winsor, who is originally from Newfoundland and Labrador and lives in Toronto.
Winsor is the co-chair of the first Canadian chapter of the Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots — Earhart was the non-profit organization's first president and founding members, she says.
The sonar image is said to be taken within a 160-kilometre radius of Howland Island, says Winsor, so it's a potentially remarkable discovery that many members of the Ninety-Nines are excited about.
Winsor says she was always inspired by Earhart. She says there were many challenges flying planes back in the 1930s without the modern GPS or flight management systems used today.
When Winsor is up in the sky, she says, she sometimes thinks about how Earhart could have accomplished such daring feats.
"It's just truly remarkable that … she was able to navigate her way, you know, across the Atlantic and circumnavigate the globe," she said. "Because she was on one of her last legs of the flight."
Harbour Grace is a special place to Winsor. For what would have been Earhart's 100th birthday, the town had Winsor do an Earthart re-enactment and land a plane in the town, and after she landed, people met her wearing period costumes.
"It was a really special moment," she said.
If the sonar image is proven to depict Earhart's plane, after nearly nine decades sitting on the ocean floor, Winsor hopes it's left alone.
"If this was Amelia's final resting place, I'll let her and her navigator rest in peace and … know that she's been such an inspiration to many, many people, including female pilots," she said.
"Especially female pilots."
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With files from The St. John's Morning Show