Latest on Amelia Earhart

[20774]

Saw this new info related to the search for Amelia and her plane. It will be interesting to see what transpires.

Amelia Earhart's long-lost plane possibly detected by sonar 16,000 feet underwater, exploration team claims

Deep Sea Vision says it captured a sonar image in the Pacific Ocean that "appears to be Earhart's Lockheed 10-E Electra" aircraft.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[powwow]

It's hard to appreciate nowadays the level of worldwide popularity Amelia Earhart had. An article I read compared her popularity to that of Taylor Swift in the current age and what the shocked world reaction would be if Swift suddenly just disappeared.

 

[20774]

What I'm wondering is how does a plane retain that much shape for that long in water so deep?

 

[Omega Man]

What I'm wondering is how does a plane retain that much shape for that long in water so deep?

Best I can remember, the deeper the water, the less oxygen which cuts down on bulk corrosion. Wreckage being intact seems to be a function of original build strength/weigh- speed to the ocean floor.
I have a feeling that the plane (skin) would be as thin as it could possibly be and still have shape.
Hopefully it is her plane as it would be another part of the clue to her disappearance.
OM

 

[akbeemer]

I think that if a structure is not pressurized it would not be much deformed until the metal oxidized. Her plane was all metal; aluminum I believe. I don’t know how aluminum would stand up in the environment where the plane was found. The temperature at three miles down would slow the decay of organic matter. So, there is a chance that the plane can be identified as a Lockheed Electra and maybe have legible markings such as a tail number. There may even be skeletal remains or clothing such as a shoe.

 

[collingsbob]

I think that if a structure is not pressurized it would not be much deformed until the metal oxidized. Her plane was all metal; aluminum I believe. I don’t know how aluminum would stand up in the environment where the plane was found. The temperature at three miles down would slow the decay of organic matter. So, there is a chance that the plane can be identified as a Lockheed Electra and maybe have legible markings such as a tail number. There may even be skeletal remains or clothing such as a shoe.

Temperature…and lack of oxygen

 

[20774]

If the structure wasn't originally built for internal pressurization, then to be subjected to that much external pressure all these years, it maybe be quite "flat" even if the chemical deterioration hasn't done any more damage.

 

[r0ckrat]

If the structure wasn't originally built for internal pressurization, then to be subjected to that much external pressure all these years, it maybe be quite "flat" even if the chemical deterioration hasn't done any more damage.

If the structure was not pressurized, then the structure should be fine, as there would be no pressure failures causing collapse. (Like the Titanic - it was an "open structure" so the water flowed in, and it wasn't affected by the pressure.)

 

[kbasa]

Her Lockheed Electra 10e was pressurized. I'd expect that they'd depressurized it in anticipation of having to ditch it.

 

[dduelin]

I have always been interested in aviation and as a youngster I read everything I could find on pioneers in the field. Poor Fred, no one ever talks about him.

If that's the best image they got I hope those aren't swept wings from the jet era. I hope the mystery is solved but many were planes were lost in the Pacific Ocean in WWII.

 

[skibum69]

There is a statue of her near here in Harbour Grace where she took off for one of her flights. Took me awhile to find the photo.