Mystery of Pan Am plane that vanished with 52 dead passengers on board is finally solved 74 years on
While everyone on board survived the initial impact, only 12 passengers and five crew members were rescued, with the rest being lost with the plane
Some 74 years after a Pan American Airways flight crashed into the water off the coast of Puerto Rico, an aviation search team said it found the wreckage sitting on the ocean floor.
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The Air/Sea Heritage Foundation and others, including Discovery Channel’s series Expedition Unknown, found the wreckage of the Pan Am Clipper Endeavor at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off Puerto Rico's northern coast last month.
The Douglas DC-4 aircraft broke into two sections and came to rest after crashing into the ocean shortly after taking off from Puerto Rico on April 11, 1952, with 64 passengers and five crew members on board.
While everyone on board survived the initial impact, only 12 passengers and five crew members were rescued, with the rest being lost with the plane.
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What happened on Pan Am flight 526A?
Shortly after takeoff on April 11, engine number three failed at 350ft, prompting pilot Captain John Burn to return to San Juan Airport.
However, on the flight back, as the Clipper continued to climb to more than 500 ft, engine number four failed too.
With the engines on its right wing completely broken, Captain Burn declared an in-flight emergency and told the control tower that he would attempt a water landing around seven miles off Isla Grande, Puerto Rico.
It landed in the Atlantic Ocean at around 12.20pm with rescuers arriving shortly after.
The rear fuselage broke off behind the main cabin and the wreckage sank in three minutes.
The US Coast Guard dispatched two flying boats within minutes, but one of them, piloted by Lieutenant Commander Ken Bilderback, had been undergoing routine maintenance at the time and its auxiliary power unit and water pump were removed.
Bilderback's vehicle found itself in a dire situation while it had 15 survivors on board - it had taken on a lot of seawater and had very little power to take off with.
13 of the survivors were transferred to a Coast Guard tender vessel, but sea conditions had worsened, and Bilderback was faced with the decision to either abandon his flying boat or to attempt to taxi it back to San Juan Harbour. He successfully completed the latter option.
Several other emergency vehicles were on hand at the scene and in total, they were able to rescue 12 passengers and five crew members.
The disaster led to sweeping aviation reforms, with the introduction of pre-flight safety briefings and emergency procedure demonstrations.
"We are all stunned and elated by this discovery yet also humbled to remember what happened in that place so long ago," said Russ Matthews, president of the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation.
Josh Gates, of Discovery Channel’s Expedition Unknown, added: “Every time you step onboard an airplane today, you are safer because of what happened to Clipper Endeavor and her passengers three quarters of a century ago.
"This aircraft vanished beneath the waves, and the legacy of those aboard was at risk of being lost with it. When the images came back from the AUV, we all gasped.
"Seeing the bright aluminum fuselage shining back at us from the ocean floor was a hugely emotional moment. I hope this historic discovery brings some peace to the families of those aboard and serves to remind the flying public today of the debt of remembrance we owe to this fateful flight."
The search for the Clipper, which involved the Deep Sea Vision company, used high-resolution sonar, with the wreckage being found almost 2,000 feet under the Atlantic Ocean.
The search also involved the use of autonomous underwater drones and ended the mystery of where the aircraft came to rest.
What led to the crash?
Investigators at the time believed the crash to have been caused by:
- Inadequate maintenance that meant engine number three was not fully charged
- Faulty engine parts
- Captain Burn's attempt to re-establish a climb without using all available power after engine number four died.
Legal proceedings found that it was inadequate maintenance and faulty parts that ultimately led to the disaster, Captain Burn was fully exonerated.
Survivors of the crash have since said that although many passengers had survived the crash, many refused to leave the sinking craft for lifeboats due to a fear of the rough waters and the possibility that there may have been sharks in the area.