By Tim Binnall
The family of Amelia Earhart has responded to the possible discovery of the legendary aviator's lost plane and, in doing so, expressed a rather surprising amount of optimism about the potential breakthrough in the decades-old mystery. The intriguing development, which made headlines last month, came in the form of a sonar photo of an anomaly that bears a striking resemblance to a small aircraft sitting on the floor of the Pacific Ocean in the general vicinity of where many believe that the pilot's last flight came to an end. Although they have undoubtedly been presented with all manner of tantalizing evidence in the past, it would appear that this particular instance has piqued the interest of the aviator's family.
"It's in about the right place," Earhart's great-nephew Bram Kleppner observed to the Independent, "it sure looks like a plane." To that end, he indicated that if the anomaly is the elusive aircraft, the family would like for it to be salvaged and put on display at the Smithsonian Museum, which is an appropriate location for an artifact with such a rich history. That said, since the plane may be located in international waters, the company behind the expedition that located it would have legal ownership of the priceless relic and, one imagines, they would like to recoup the $11 million they spent searching for it.
Appearing content to cross that proverbial bridge when he comes to it, Kleppner mused that "with luck, it will end up in a place where anyone who's interested can go and spend some time with it." While unlikely, considering how long ago the plane went missing, should Earhart's remains be found within the suspected aircraft, her family would prefer that they be buried in her hometown of Atchison, Kansas as "it was where Amelia was born and where she spent a lot of her youth being cared for by her grandparents." Of course, decisions regarding what becomes of the plane and its contents remain hypothetical until sometime later this year when a second expedition to the spot will determine if the discovery is genuine or merely another case of false hope.