By Tim Binnall
A deep-sea exploration group plans to embark on a new expedition to locate Amelia Earhart's lost plane based on what they describe as "breakthrough data" concerning the final moments of the doomed flight. Announced in a press release on Tuesday, the company Nauticos asserted that an "extensive restoration and analysis" of a radio system identical to the one aboard the missing aircraft has provided them with "the most precise information yet" as to where the pioneering pilot and her navigator Fred Noonan were at "8 AM on the day they vanished." Specifically, the group indicated that the spot is near Howland Island, where the pair had planned to land during their historic attempt at circumnavigating the globe.
By way of this new "cutting-edge research," Nauticos President Dave Jourdan declared that "we have narrowed the search area dramatically" and now plan to put that data to the test with an expedition to the location. The search would be the company's fourth effort to find Earhart's lost aircraft, following previous attempts in 2002, 2006, and 2017. In contrast to the secrecy that often surrounds similar expeditions, Nauticos is promising an interactive experience wherein the entire process will be documented on their website "through interactive social media updates, live streams, educational content, and exclusive interviews."
When exactly the expedition will occur has yet to be determined, as the company is currently raising funds for the effort. Should the search ultimately come to pass, Nauticus would enter something of an unfolding race to solve the Earhart mystery as South Carolina researcher Michael Carra, a Perdue-backed group of explorers, and a British pilot are all at various stages of their own attempts at finding the lost aircraft. In a testament to the maddening nature of the case, each of the participants is remarkably confident that they have figured out where the plane ultimately went down, yet their respective spots are entirely different.