An undersea drone has located the wreckage of a Pan Am flight that crashed off Puerto Rico in 1952, killing 52 people. The disaster led to the passenger safety briefings now standard on commercial flights.
Crash details and survival
The Clipper Endeavor, a DC-4, went down after two engines failed shortly after takeoff. Seventeen of the 69 on board survived the crash. Survivors told investigators that everyone lived through the splashdown, but panic set in as many passengers struggled to find life vests and the crew struggled to deploy life rafts. Within minutes the plane sank, and 39 bodies were never recovered.
Discovery of the wreckage
Explorers found the wreckage in June when a robotic sonar drone located the fuselage and tail in 600 meters of water. The search involved years of archival research by the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, led by Russ Matthews, who became interested after seeing an article about a luggage tag from the flight washing ashore in Florida in 2019. Reports from the Civil Aeronautics Board and a map from air force pilots who witnessed the crash helped pinpoint the site.
Tony Romeo, CEO of Deep Sea Vision, joined the effort when one of his ships was in the area carrying an advanced underwater drone. The drone found the wreckage on its first pass over a 10-square-nautical-mile search area.
Impact on aviation safety
Aviation safety expert John Cox, a pilot and founder of Safety Operating Systems, said: "This one became a catalyst, and it helped drive safety steps forward of better flotation equipment and the preflight briefings. So this is one stepping stone along the path to what we today enjoy as aviation safety. It was a rallying cry at the time."
The disaster led to sweeping aviation reforms, including pre-takeoff instructions about exit locations and life vests. The discovery could also offer hope to families of those lost in ocean crashes like flight MH370.
The search will be featured in a future episode of the Discovery Channel show Expedition Unknown.
