Scientists make breakthrough in search for Amelia Earhart's plane that's been missing for 88 years
Over 88 years after she disappeared from the world, scientists believe they might have finally found Amelia Earhart's lost plane in the wild, ending nearly a century of speculation surrounding the aviation expert's whereabouts.
Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart's disappearance has remained one of the biggest mysteries that continues to elude people to this day, as she disappeared during an attempt to fly all across the world at just 39 years of age.
She became somewhat of a celebrity across America once she began flying, after becoming just the 16th woman to ever earn an aviation license, and she broke records by becoming the first female pilot to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean.
She attempted to one-up that feat by flying across the whole world alongside her navigator Fred Noonan, and the pair began planning for the lengthy and complex trip in early 1936.
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Taking roughly 29,000 miles upon completion, the pair set off in Miami on June 1, 1937, but just over a month after the landmark departure they appeared to encounter an issue and suddenly disappeared without a trace.
How did Amelia Earhart disappear?
Obviously due to the fact that experts still haven't tracked her down it remains unclear quite how Earhart and Noonan mysteriously vanished near the beginning of their lengthy journey, but many have provided their own speculation.
One of the most prominent theories involves a miscalculation when crossing the International Date Line between New Guinea and Howland Island, which took them off course into an unexpected area.
This would have led them around 70 miles from Gardner Island, which amounts to over 400 miles from their intended destination, and famously Amelia Earhart made several radio calls requesting urgent help.
A particularly wild conspiracy speculates that their plane crashed on the island, killing Noonan upon impact and washing the plane away, whereas Earhart was able to remain stranded and survive for a few weeks.
Following her death, some then suggest that her body was eaten by giant three-foot-long coconut crabs, which supporters of the theory claim is supported by bones that were found in 1940 - although doctors allege that these were male.
Over 88 years after the crash was expected to have taken place though scientists have made a new major discovery, as the long lost plane could finally have resurfaced into view.
Where have scientists found the plane?
As reported by LADbible, researchers now claim that they've spotted a plane on the islands of Nikumaroro in Kiribati, which is situated around 1,000 miles from Fiji.
The discovery was made when analysing satellite imagery, which appeared to show signs of the plane emerging through the sand. Richard Pettigrew, executive director of the Archaeological Legacy Institute in Oregon, claims that the size and composition of the plane mirrors that of the 'Electra' - Earhart's plane - and that it was on the flight path that the pair had taken.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Pettigrew outlined that "what we have here is maybe the greatest opportunity ever to finally close the case. With such a great amount of very strong evidence, we feel we have no choice but to move forward and hopefully return with proof."
Purdue University, who initially funded Earhart's attempted trip around the world, is also sending a team of researchers to the island to investigate further after American-made tools and a medicine vial were discovered in the nearby area.