The disappearance of Amelia Earhart has captivated the world for almost a nine decades now.
Earhart was attempting to become the first woman to fly around the world when he plane disappeared in 1937. She was close to Howland Island in the Pacific Ocean at the time.
No trace of Earhart or navigator Fred Noonan have ever been found. It has led to outlandish speculation and conspiracies as to what could have happened to the duo – including one theory their plane had been discovered on Google Maps.
Last year, it emerged scientific analysis revealed a series of hidden letters and numbers etched onto an aluminium panel that washed up on Nikumaroro Island in the western Pacific. The island is located close to where Earhart went missing.
It prompted a wave of excitement that scientists could have cracked one of the 20th century’s most enduring mysteries. Sadly though, it appears those hopes have now been dashed.
Analysis of the panels suggest they did not belong to Earhart’s Lockhead Electra plane, instead they are said to be from a WWII aircraft that crashed six years later. However, all hope is not yet lost.
Experts are now analysing a new image they think shows an engine cover buried underwater close to Nikumaroro that could have come from Earhart’s plane.
Ric Gillespie is executive director of The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), which has led The Earhart Project for more than three decades.
Speaking to the MailOnline, he said a forensic imaging specialist was currently analysing an underwater picture taken during an expedition to Nikumaroro in 2009. Ric explained: “There is an object in the photo that appears to be a Lockheed Electra engine cowling.
“The similarity to an engine cowling and prop shaft was not noticed until years later and the exact location was not noted at the time, which meant attempts to re-locate the object were unsuccessful.”
Even if the forensic analysis revealed the engine cover is from Earhart’s plane, it still wouldn’t solve the mystery of what happened to the 39-year-old. It could though rule out some theories, including a long-held belief that Earhart and Noonan landed and eventually died on Nikumaroro.
TIGHAR had hoped the aluminium panels would support their theory. It has also been considered that the piece of metal, that was discovered in 1991, was a patch that was added to Earhart’s aircraft when repairs were made in Miami during her ill-fated round-the-world flight attempt.
But scientists last year discovered letters and numbers that could not been seen by the naked eye. The letters and numbers ‘D24’, ‘XRO’ and either ‘335’ or ‘385’ were found on the panel, which is known as 2-2-V-1.
It is now thought they are in fact manufacturing code. Gillespie added: “Our forensic imaging specialist Jeff Glickman is still working on his final report, but it is looking like 2-2-V-1 is from the upper wing surface of a WWII Douglas C-47.
“Disappointing after all these years and so many promising similarities to the patch on Earhart’s Electra, but science is what it is.”
The experts concluded the letter D as well as AD on another part of the panel, were stampings from the manufacturing process. They also discovered US company Alcoa, which has been manufacturing aluminium since 1888, stamped some of its sheets with ‘ALCLAD 24S-T’.
This is what they believe was on the panel. When Earhart’s Lockhead was constructed, the aluminium sheeting was stamped with ALC24ST. She did however have a panel from a year later.
Alcoa labelling however would have had to change to ALCLAD 24S-T in that time. But the firm still used its ALC24ST label until 1942.
It then swapped to the ALCLAD labelling in 1943. This suggests the panel discovered on Nikumaroro was from a World War II plane and not the Electra.
The letters XRO and numbers 335 and 385 on the panel remain a mystery. However one theory is that they never existed, something known as pareidolic illusion – a phenomenon where the mind wants to make sense of what the eyes see, so invents something.
Investigators however think this is less likely.
Another blow to those trying to find what happened to Earhart came in the form of bone fragments found on Nikumaroro three years after she vanished. These were DNA tested and, according to the Daily Mail, were found not to be the aviator.
Gillespie remains confident the case of missing Earhart can be cracked. He says there is evidence she was on Nikumaroro, including radio calls and an alleged photo of her landing gear taken in 1937.
The intrigue around Earhart’s disappearance began when the plane disappeared off the coast of Howland Island. A 17-day rescue attempt scoured 250,000 square miles of ocean, but was unable to find the crew or plane.
The general consensus appears to be the aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea. But other theorists dispute this idea.
Theories ranging from living as castaways, being captured as prisoners of war, and creating new identities have cropped up online. And, without any firm information, it seems the slueths are destined to continue guessing.
