The hunt for Earhart’s plane continues скупка дронов

The rock formation was more than 16,000 feet (4,877 meters) underwater. Upon first discovery, the team’s advanced autonomous underwater vehicle, or AUV, a device that maps the seabed using sonar technology, was about 1,640 feet (500 meters) away, Romeo said.

The team sent out the AUV directly above the site in early November, producing a high-resolution image of the rock formation.

“The mood was very jubilant on the way out,” Romeo said. “We were excited (but) cautiously optimistic because we knew there was a possibility that (the anomaly) may not be what we thought it was, but obviously everybody was excited.”

It was a long wait for the AUV to get into position to scan the object — about 24 hours from launch until the team could see the data, Romeo said. After the anxious wait, the image surprisingly revealed that the object was a natural rock formation, he said.

Romeo said other images further confirmed the rock formation, but the company is not yet releasing any material other than one sonar image, as a documentary on the expedition is in the works. The team may not return to the area to search farther until 2026, due to other missions, Romeo said. “It’ll be some time before we get back out there,” he added, “but we want to find it, and I believe we will.”