Amelia Earhart expedition ends after suspected plane wreckage proves to be trees

Amelia Earhart vanished in 1937 while flying around the world, according to the BBC. She and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared as she sought to become the first woman to fly around the Earth, CBS reported.

This expedition focused on Nikumaroro, a remote Pacific atoll. Researchers were drawn there by satellite imagery showing what was described as a metallic glint in the waters off the uninhabited island, according to The Guardian. The question was whether that object could be the missing aircraft.

On October 12, the BBC reported that researchers had arrived at the island to inspect possible plane wreckage. The report identified the group as coming from the Archaeological Legacy Institute; later coverage from CNN Brasil described the expedition as involving Purdue University researchers.

Conditions complicated the search. Gizmodo reported on October 13 that the island's large, meat-eating crabs prevented expedition members from sleeping ashore.

Hopes remained high on October 15, when CBS reported that researchers believed they might be days away from finding the plane. By October 16, its coverage described a 17-member team facing severe weather challenges, according to CBS.

Historical material also emerged during the expedition. On October 16, The Guardian reported that a New Zealand museum had released nearly 50 photographs from a 1938 aerial survey of Nikumaroro. The images offered possible clues, not proof of a crash.

On October 18, the BBC reported that searching had resumed after stormy weather put the expedition on hold for three days. The following day, CBS reported the researchers' assessment: the object they had hoped was the aircraft was "likely a collection of large trees" that had washed away, leaving a "single Y-shaped segment."

The expedition has concluded without finding conclusive evidence of Earhart's plane, according to NBC News. Its report described the satellite anomaly as most likely "a collection of debris," while The Guardian reported that researchers had left the atoll empty-handed after identifying the suspected wreckage as trees.

That finding closes off the expedition's immediate lead. It does not establish what happened to Earhart and Noonan, or where their aircraft ultimately came to rest. The provided coverage identifies no confirmed wreckage or announced followup mission.