It is one of aviation’s great mysteries: whatever happened to Amelia Earhart?

Hard evidence regarding what became of the pioneering American pilot – who disappeared over the Pacific while attempting to become the first woman to fly around the globe in 1937 – remains tantalisingly elusive more than 80 years on.

Now, researchers are hoping newly acquired video footage may help them solve the eight-decade-old riddle.

A reel of 16mm film showing Ms Earhart’s Electra aircraft being refuelled on the island of New Guinea could offer vital clues, say experts with the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR).

That pitstop came shortly before the then 39-year-old and her navigator Fred Noonan took off for the island of Howland on 2 July 1937 – a trip they were never to complete.

Amelia Earhart: Life in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Amelia Earhart: Life in pictures Amelia Earhart: Life in pictures Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean Smithsonian Amelia Earhart: Life in pictures Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart received the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross for her famous solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean Amelia Earhart: Life in pictures Amelia Earhart Pilot Amelia Earhart standing by her plane Amelia Earhart: Life in pictures Amelia Earhart US aviator Amelia Earhart looking through the cockpit window of an aircraft in Essonne, France Amelia Earhart: Life in pictures Amelia Earhart US aviator Amelia Earhart looking through the cockpit window of an aircraft in Essonne, France, 1930's Amelia Earhart: Life in pictures Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart set many records, she wrote best-selling books about her flying experiences and was instrumental in the formation of The Ninety-Nines, an organization for female pilots. Earhart joined the faculty of the Purdue University aviation department in 1935 as a visiting faculty member to counsel women on careers and help inspire others with her love for aviation. She was also a member of the National Woman's Party, and an early supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment Amelia Earhart: Life in pictures Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart sits at the controls of an experimental glider before a flight at the Scripps estate 'Wildwood Farms,' Lake Orion, Michigan, 1929 Amelia Earhart: Life in pictures Amelia Earhart Amelia Earhart stands on 14 June 1928 in front of her bi-plane called 'Friendship' in Newfoundland

TIGHAR researchers have long disputed the commonly held theory that the aircraft simply ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean, suggesting the pair most likely landed on the uninhabited Gardner Island – now known as Nikumaroro – where they probably perished after living briefly as castaways.

A series of expeditions to the island by the group have resulted in some evidence for the theory, including the discovery of an aluminium panel which they believe perfectly matches a patch that was used to replace a damaged window in the Electra’s cabin.

They now hope that by enhancing and zooming in on the new film footage, they will be able to determine once and for all if this panel was that patch, the Daily Telegraph reports.

If it was, they say, it will be the most compelling evidence yet that Ms Earhart made it to the island.

The footage itself was taken by a mining engineer on New Guinea and, until now, has been in the ownership of a woman who acquired it many years later as part of a divorce settlement.

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She contacted the TIGHAR in 2008 but it took a decade of negotiating a price before she sold the film to the group.