VOA新闻杂志2024--Renewed Interest in Amelia Earhart’s Final Flight

Renewed Interest in Amelia Earhart’s Final Flight

An unclear sonar image recorded by a private pilot has renewed interest in a past mystery: What happened to Amelia Earhart, the pilot who disappeared in 1937 with her plane?

Many searches have found nothing. But Tony Romeo now believes his new South Carolina-based sea exploration company captured a partial image of Earhart's famous plane.

Researchers and explorers are hopeful. But whether Earhart's plane lies at about 4,800 meters beneath the ocean remains¹ to be seen.

How was the object found?

Romeo said he had long held interest in the Earhart mystery. So, he bought a $9 million underwater drone from a Norwegian company. The drone is called the Hugin 6000. It includes the newest technology. It can dive down to 6,000 meters.

A 16-person crew began a search in the western Pacific Ocean in September 2023. They searched over 13,400 square kilometers of seafloor. The crew searched around Howland Island between Papua New Guinea and Hawaii.

But it was not until the team looked at the sonar data in December that they saw the unclear yellow outline of what looked like a plane.

"In the end, we came out with an image of a target that we believe very strongly is Amelia's aircraft," Romeo told the Associated Press.

The next step is taking a camera underwater to better examine the unidentified object. If camera images confirm the explorers' hopes, Romeo said the goal would be to raise Earhart's airplane.

Romeo said his team undertook the trip to "solve aviation's greatest unsolved mystery." Depending on what they find, they might answer if Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, escaped after hitting the ocean, or learn more about what went wrong.

The mystery of Earhart

Earhart and Noonan disappeared while flying from New Guinea to Howland Island. That trip was part of her attempt to become the first female pilot to fly around the world. She had radioed that she was running low on fuel.

The Navy searched but found nothing. The U.S. government's official position has been that Earhart and Noonan went down with their plane.

Since then, there have been many theories. They include that Earhart was taken by aliens, lived in New Jersey² under another name, she was killed by the Japanese, or died on an island.

"Amelia is America's favorite missing person," Romeo said.

‘We need to see more'

Sea archaeologist James Delgado said Romeo's possible find would change the story, but "we need to see more."

"Let's drop some cameras down there and take a look," said Delgado. He is senior vice³ president of the archaeological company SEARCH.

Delgado said Romeo's search used the newest technologies that were once only available to the government.

But he said Romeo's team must provide detailed⁴ documentation to prove it is Earhart's plane.

If the object really is the historic aircraft, the question for the team is if it is safe to raise. How much of the plane is left would be decided⁵ by how smoothly⁶ Earhart landed," said Dorothy Cochrane of the National Air and Space Museum.

"That's where you have to really look at this image and say, ‘What have we got here?'" said Cochrane.

What if Earhart's plane has been found?

If the discovery turns out to be her plane, international rules for underwater archaeology⁷ would suggest that the aircraft remain where it is, said Ole Varmer. He is a retired⁸ lawyer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁹ Administration and an advisor¹⁰ at The Ocean Foundation, an environmental group based in Washington, D.C.

Less damaging research can still be carried out to find why the plane crashed, Varmer said.

Varmer added, "You preserve as much of the story as you can." And he said, "When you salvage¹¹ it, you're destroying part of the site, which can provide information."

Raising the plane and showing it to the public would likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars, Varmer said. And while Romeo could possibly make a salvage claim in a court, the plane's owner has the right to deny it.

Earhart bought the plane with money raised, at least in part, by the Purdue Research Foundation, Purdue University in Indiana said in a blog. She planned to return the aircraft to the school.

Romeo said the team believes the plane belongs in the Smithsonian. He said the issue likely presents a new kind of legal case. He said his exploration company will "deal with those as they come up."

Words in This Story

sonar – n. a device used for finding things that are underwater by using sound waves

drone – n. a type of small aircraft that flies without a pilot

aircraft – n. a machine (such as an airplane or a helicopter) that flies through the air

aviation – n. the business or practice of flying airplanes or helicopters

navigate¹² – v. to find the way to get to a place when you are traveling in a ship, airplane, or car

alien – n. a creature that comes from somewhere other than the planet Earth

archeology – n. a science that deals with past human life and activities by studying the bones or tools of ancient people

preserve – v. to keep (something) in its original state or in good condition

salvage – v. to remove (something) from a place so that it will not be damaged, destroyed, or lost

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

7 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

10 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

11 salvage   

v.救助，营救，援救；n.救助，营救

参考例句：

• All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.抢救失事船只的一切努力都失败了。
• The salvage was piled upon the pier.抢救出的财产被堆放在码头上。

12 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。