Could the Amelia Earhart mystery so be solved after 77 years?

A piece of her lost aircraft, which went missing over the Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937, was identified for the first time in history.

The latest research from The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery reveals that the metal piece found on the island of Nikumaroro in 1991 belongs to Earhart's plane, the Lockheed Electra.

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"This is the first time an artifact found on Nikumaroro has been shown to have a direct link to Amelia Earhart," the executive director of the organization Ric Gillespie told Discovery News.

"The many fractures, tears, dents and gouges found on this battered sheet of aluminum may be important clues to the fate and resting place of the Electra."

The piece was put on the Lockheed Electra when Earhart stopped in Miami during her attempt to fly around the world. She then headed to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

"The Miami Patch was an expedient field repair," Gillespie said. "Its complex fingerprint of dimensions, proportions, materials and rivet patterns was as unique to Earhart's Electra as a fingerprint is to an individual."

This new information also reveals one more shocking fact - Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan didn't crash. The two actually landed on Nikumaroro and eventually died on a coral reef.

The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery said it plans to return to the island in June 2015 to investigate further.

See images of the aircraft here.

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