Pan Am Flight 7
| Pan Am Flight 7 | |
|---|---|
 An identical Boeing 377 from Pan Am |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | unexplained |
| place | Pacific Ocean , approximately 1,600 km east of Hawaii |
| date | November 8, 1957 |
| Fatalities | 44 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 377 |
| operator | Pan American World Airways |
| Mark | N90944 |
| Surname | Clipper Romance Of The Skies |
| Departure airport | San Francisco International Airport |
| Destination airport | Honolulu Airport |
| Passengers | 36 |
| crew | 8th |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
On November 8, 1957, a Boeing 377 crashed on Pan-Am Flight 7 from San Francisco to Honolulu . Six days later, US Navy ships recovered 19 victims and some floating debris. The wreck was not found. The cause of the accident remained unclear.
Flight history
The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser of Pan American World Airways began at 11:51 am local time (19:51 UTC ) from San Francisco International Airport on a flight that was to lead the machine round the globe. The first stopover was scheduled at 19:50 local time (05:50 UTC) in Honolulu. On the leg to Hawaii there were 36 passengers and 8 crew members on board. The aircraft rose to a cruising altitude of approximately 3,000 meters (10,000 feet ).
At 00:30 UTC, the pilots routinely reported to Ocean Station November , a radar- equipped ship that monitored air traffic between North America and Hawaii from a fixed position . When the machine left the radar range of this station at 01:04 UTC, radio contact was made for the last time. At this point in time, the Boeing 377 was on its planned course. The pilots' next position report, which was supposed to be at 02:04 UTC, did not materialize.
Cause of accident
On November 14, 1957, the aircraft carrier USS Philippine Sea discovered floating debris, pieces of luggage and 19 corpses about 1,740 kilometers (940 NM ) east of Hawaii and 165 kilometers (90 NM) north of the planned flight route.
The autopsy revealed that ten of the recovered victims drowned after surviving the crash. None of the victims showed serious external injuries. It was assumed that the pilots had succeeded in a more or less controlled ditching , with the aircraft landing on the water at a shallow angle and probably remaining largely intact. An examination of the mechanics of five recovered wristwatches showed that the impact occurred at a 27th minute. Because the crew no longer received the routine report at 02:04 UTC, the investigators assumed that the accident had occurred at 16:27 local time (01:27 UTC). Taking into account the location of the debris and the ocean currents, it could be calculated that the scene of the accident was about 1,600 kilometers east of Hawaii (position: 29 ° 26 'N 143 ° 34' W). The average wave height in the sea area concerned was around 2.5 meters at that time. The wind came from the southwest with a strength of about 20 km / h.
An increased concentration of carbon monoxide was found in the corpses . It remained unclear whether these values were caused by the advanced decomposition process or by possible inhalation of combustion gases . The recovered debris and objects showed no signs of a major fire or explosion. A local fire could not be ruled out. No importance was attached to the weather.
The investigative commission considered it possible that the machine sustained structural damage due to the breakage of a propeller blade , which resulted in a (partial) loss of control. It was known from previous accidents involving the Boeing 377 that the breakage of a propeller blade leads to an imbalance in the affected engine and triggers strong vibrations . These could have damaged the wing or caused the damaged engine to tear off. As a result, would be a partial stall occurred, it would have been difficult by the crew to keep the machine on the original flight path. This was seen as a possible explanation for why the aircraft changed course 30 degrees to the north within 23 minutes of the last radar contact and crashed off the planned flight route.
See also
- Pan-Am Flight 6 , on which a Boeing 377 ditched Ocean Station in November the year before .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e ICAO Aircraft Accident Digest 10, Circular 59-AN / 54, pp. 35–41 (PDF)
- ^ Aviation catastrophes , David Gero, Stuttgart 1994
Coordinates: 29 ° 26 ′ 0 ″ N , 143 ° 34 ′ 0 ″ W.