By Tim Binnall
Researchers working to unravel the mystery of Amelia Earhart's baffling disappearance have unearthed a photograph featuring a peculiar formation that may be a piece of the pioneering aviator's plane submerged off the coast of an island where many believe she crashed back in 1937. The intriguing image (seen below) was reportedly unearthed by The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR), which says that it was snapped by a diver during a 2009 expedition to the island of Nikumaroro. The uninhabited atoll has long been suspected of being the location where Earhart's attempt at circumnavigating the globe came to an inexplicable and tragic end over eight decades ago.
"There is an object in the photo that appears to be a Lockheed Electra engine cowling," TIGHAR's executive director Ric Gillespie observed. He went on to lament that "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." Nonetheless, Gillespie indicated that his team has enlisted a forensic specialist to examine the image in the hopes that they can confirm if it is a genuine piece of the Lockheed Electra piloted by Earhart. Should that be the case, one imagines that a renewed search will be launch in an attempt to find and retrieve the remarkable debris.