The wreckage of a Pan American Airways plane that crashed in 1952, killing 52 people, has been found 74 years after the tragedy. The aircraft, known as the Clipper Endeavour, was bound for New York City from Puerto Rico when it lost both engines on the right side just 10 minutes after takeoff on Good Friday.
Crash and aftermath
The plane, comparable in size to a modern Boeing 737, had 64 passengers and five crew members onboard. The pilots conducted a violent water landing into the Atlantic Ocean, and all onboard initially survived. However, pre-flight safety briefings were not standard at the time, leading to chaos during the incident. The plane was pulled underwater in less than three minutes, and 52 people drowned.
Discovery after 74 years
The wreckage remained on the ocean floor at an unreachable depth until June 2 this year, when it was finally found after a seven-year investigation by the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation in partnership with Deep Sea Vision and the Discovery Channel's series Expedition Unknown. Josh Gates, the series' host, said: "Seeing the bright aluminum fuselage shining back at us from the ocean floor was a hugely emotional moment."
Technology used in search
The search was assisted by a research vessel called Fugro Brasilis, which used one of the most advanced autonomous underwater vehicles in the world. The machine could scan the ocean floor at depths of up to 20,000 feet and remain submerged for up to four days at a time. The vehicle spotted the Clipper Endeavour on the ocean floor broken into two parts.
