Why is Google Earth showing a plane 'at the bottom of a lake'?

A plane has been spotted at the bottom of a lake in Minneapolis, USA on Google Earth - but it's not what it seems according to staff at Google.

Users of the map service who zoomed into Lake Harriet saw an unmistakable twin-engine aircraft which appeared submerged in the water.

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Officials who oversee Minneapolis parks had no information about a plane in the lake but staff at Google offered an explanation.

Speaking to The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, spokeswoman Susan Cadrecha said: "In short: each satellite image you see on the map is actually a compilation of several images.

Cadrecha, who consulted with Google technicians, added: "Fast-moving objects like planes often show up in only one of the many images we use for a given area. When this happens, faint remnants of the fast-moving object can sometimes be seen."

A similar image of a plane appeared in nearby Lake Nokomis.

The Star-Tribune reported that more than 400,000 planes take off and land at the nearby Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport each year.