Press Release: Amelia Earhart Search

Press Release

March 14, 2001
For Immediate Release
Contact Person:
Lynn Jourdan (207) 967.0666

Deep Sea Explorers Who Helped Raise Titanic Now Say They Know Where To Find Amelia Earhart

Undersea Expert Nauticos Corporation Set to Launch Massive Search & Recovery Mission to Solve the Mystery of the Missing Aviator

Sixty four years ago, amid much hoopla and fanfare, famed aviator Amelia Earhart left on a mission to circle the globe. Three quarters of the way through her journey, the thirty-nine year old and her navigator disappeared near Howland Island in the Pacific. Despite an intensive search by the US Navy, no trace of the aircraft or its occupants was ever found. Until now.

Nauticos Corporation of Maryland has the know-how, research and cutting edge technology to finally put to rest the mystery of what happened to Amelia Earhart. Working with Elgen Long, author of the book Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved, Nauticos' experts have pinpointed a secret location they are convinced is the final resting place of the famed Electra airplane and her famous crew.

"It's one of the biggest mysteries of our century," says Tom Dettweiler, general manager and executive vice president of Nauticos Corporation, who hopes to find the Electra in one piece. "We believe she landed on the water in a semi-controlled manner because she ran out of fuel. Due to the unique nature of the environment - cold water, low oxygen and extreme depth - an airplane could be very well preserved in those circumstances."

It's not the first time Nauticos has unearthed long-lost underwater articles of historical importance. Although its core business is to support the U.S. Navy, Nauticos has a number of other notable ocean discovery successes. These include serving as the Operation Manager for the Discovery Channel's live special on the Titanic as well as the search and discovery of the historic Japanese submarine, I-52, sunk by the U.S. Navy during World War II and believed to be carrying $20 million in gold bound for Germany. The story was featured in the October 1999 issue of National Geographic. Nauticos also discovered a portion of one of the Japanese aircraft carriers sunk at the Battle of Midway, widely considered the turning point of World War II and located an Israeli submarine, known as the Dakar, which disappeared on its maiden voyage in 1968. In 1999, Nauticos pulled off another archeological coup, finding the oldest, deepest shipwreck known to man.

Nauticos details its plans for this momentous mission this Saturday, March 17th from 1pm to 3pm. David Jourdan, president and founder of Nauticos Corporation joins a panel of experts at "The Earhart Search Symposium" to be held at the Hiller Aviation Museum at the San Carlos Airport, 601 Skyway Road in San Carlos, California.

Nauticos provides operations and navigation expertise that specializes in deep-ocean search and underwater problem solving. Its deep-sea exploration experts offer extensive experience and unique technologies that significantly reduce search time and lower the cost of at-sea operations. These core capabilities enable Nauticos to find any object on the ocean floor to the deepest depths.

NOTE: B-ROLL AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

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