Amelia Earhart: Island investigators say discovery is likely to be trees

A mysterious object on a remote island is unlikely to be the airplane of missing pilot Amelia Earhart, say researchers.

Amelia Earhart, one of the world's most famous pilots, went missing nearly 90 years ago, a month after starting a round-the-world flight.

The news comes from a team of investigators who arrived on Nikumaroro island last week to identify the object.

"The mystery has been ongoing for 90 years and the mystery continues," said project director Rick Pettigrew.

Amelia and her navigator Fred Noonan went missing in July 1937.

Their plane likely went down in the middle of the Pacific Ocean after they lost contact with the US Coast Guard.

Where they went missing in the Pacific Ocean is a mystery, however.

There are a number of theories that Amelia landed on the island Nikumaroro, part of the country Kiribati.

And when satellite images showed a plane-like object located in the middle of the island, interest in Nikumaroro grew.

A team of 17 researchers from the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI) and Purdue University arrived at Nikumaroro island on Monday 13 October following a five-day, 830 mile voyage.

They spent four days on the island investigating, battling stormy weather and trying to avoid the massive crabs that live there.

But it appears that the object is old trees after all.

"The island has been holding on to its secrets and it continues to do so. I think eventually someone will find conclusive evidence here," said Rick.