Internet abuzz as South Carolina man claims to unveil sonar image of Amelia Earhart's vanished 1937 aircraft

SOUTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES: A South Carolina man asserts he may have uncovered the aircraft Amelia Earhart was piloting when she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937.

According to the Daily Mail, Tony Romeo, a former US Air Force intelligence officer, sold his commercial property investments to finance his search. In December, he successfully captured a sonar image of an object on the ocean floor that resembles an aircraft.

Tony Romeo releases 'Amelia Earhart' aircraft's sonar image

As reported by the Daily Mail, Tony Romeo transformed his fascination with the legendary pilot Earhart into an adventurous quest when he undertook an ambitious search for her lost plane.

Earhart's disappearance, along with her Lockheed 10-E Electra, during the peak of her fame, has fueled decades of searches and conspiracy theories.

The Daily Mail noted that Earhart's groundbreaking achievements in the early days of aviation propelled her to international celebrity status.

She achieved the title of being the first woman to complete solo, nonstop flights across the continental US and the Atlantic. Additionally, she holds the distinction of being the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to the mainland over the Pacific.

Expressing his excitement, Romeo told the Wall Street Journal, "This is maybe the most exciting thing I'll ever do in my life. I feel like a 10-year-old going on a treasure hunt. For her to go missing was just unthinkable."

To fund the ambitious expedition and acquire the necessary high-tech equipment, including an underwater 'Hugin' drone from the Norwegian company Kongsberg, Romeo invested $11 million, as per the Daily Mail.

The expedition, launched in early September from Tarawa, Kiribati, near Howland Island, involved a 16-person crew aboard a research vessel. During 36-hour outings, the unmanned submersible covered 5,200 square miles of ocean floor.

Around a month into the search, a fuzzy sonar image resembling an airplane, resting some 5,000 meters underwater within 100 miles of Howland Island, was captured. However, the image went unnoticed until approximately 90 days into the trip when the team discovered it while reviewing the data, according to the Daily Mail.

Romeo now plans a return expedition to obtain clearer images of the mysterious object. Some experts, including Dorothy Cochrane, a curator in the aeronautics department of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, find Romeo's discovery intriguing, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Internet reacts to mysterious sonar image

A user wrote, "Oh wow, someone thinks they've found Amelia Earhart's plane after all these years? How exciting! I mean, it's not like this is the millionth time someone has claimed to have discovered some new clue or evidence about her disappearance. #AmeliaEarhartDejaVu"

"And let's not forget, these "explorers" have spent millions of dollars on unsuccessful attempts to find her plane, because that's definitely a wise use of resources," the same person added. "I mean, it's not like there are any other pressing issues in the world that could benefit from that kind of funding. #FindingAmeliaOverFeedingChildren And let's definitely not overlook the fact that this "adventurer" who captured the image of the alleged plane is probably just looking for his 15 minutes of fame. Because, you know, nothing says "adventurer" like sitting in front of a computer screen analyzing blurry images. #DeskboundAdventures"

Someone else wrote, "My hope is you find her and her plane! Her hometown of Atchison, KS. have a memorial garden in her honor!"

A user commented, "It does look aircraft shaped, but in WW2 thousands of planes were flying in this area."

Another noted, "There must be a fault connection in the plane that make her crash and die."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.