Is it a plane or a tree? Amelia Earhart expedition aims to solve mystery of disappearance

Researchers will head to remote Pacific atoll, but sceptics say satellite images unlikely to be of her aircraft

A team of US researchers is approaching a remote Pacific atoll where they suspect the famed aviator Amelia Earhart crash-landed in 1937, in the latest attempt to crack one of the biggest mysteries of the 20th century.

The 17-person expedition was inspired by satellite images taken over several years showing a submerged object in the uninhabited island’s sandy lagoon – evidence dismissed by other longtime Earhart sleuths who say it is probably a fallen tree.