Amelia Earhart's Found Plane Kept Secret in 2010 For $1 Million? Lawsuit Claims TIGHAR Tried to Hide Whereabouts of Plane in Sonar Image! [VIDEO & REPORT]

Amelia Earhart's found plane has been published online everywhere for the past two weeks. Now a lawsuit is allegedly claiming that the research group TIGHAR had tried to swindle Timothy Mellon, grandson of Carnegie-Mellon University founder, out of $1 million.

The mystery surrounding Amelia Earhart's plane had troubled researchers worldwide since Earhart's disappearance in 1937 in the South Pacific. Amelia Earhart's found plane was seen in a sonar image published by TIGHAR in 2010.

TIGHAR (The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery)'s image shows a narrow object, similar to an airplane's wing approximately 22 feet long and located inside an opening in the underwater cliff near Nikularoro Island of the Republic of Kiribati.

The images captured in 2012 were already captured before in 2010. The wreckage of Amelia Earhart's found plane could have been seen at that time.

"As a layman, [Amelia Earhart's plane wreckage] is hard to see, unless you know what you're looking at it," Tim Stubson, the lawyer representing Timothy Mellon, said of the footage in 2010, which he said he was not able to share. "Much of it relates to the landing gear and parts that are unique to the landing gear."

"TIGHAR does not possess any definitive evidence as to the whereabouts of [Amelia Earhart's plane] Lockheed Electra, and did not conclusively make any discoveries in 2010 which it's withheld," Bill Carter, the lawyer representing TIGHAR, said. "All of its information and its research is compiled and available for public viewing on its website."

"I would tell you that there is no financial gain for us in hiding [Amelia Earhart's found plane]. Just the opposite; we would want to publicize the finding to ensure that we can protect it adequately."

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