Most. All persons aboard the aircraft were killed instantly. No. The ailerons and spoilers on both sides, except the outer half of the left outboard aileron, exhibited evidence of in-flight fire. Despite the one variation in results of the three magnetic surveys, no information significant to the investigation was obtained. The recovered wing and tail components were laid out in their respective positions for study of fire damage and the left wing tip and outboard sections were examined for evidence of lightning damage. The crash was Pan Am's first fatal accident with the 707, which it had introduced to its fleet five years earlier. [1]:2 It operated three times a week as the counterpart to Flight 213, which flew from Philadelphia to San Juan via Baltimore earlier the same day. Here we go." Decades later, the memories are still fresh for Elkton residents, although many who witnessed that night are now gone, and family and friends are still trying to find closure. From the facts of the investigation, it has been determined that explosions occurred in the left reserve, center, and right reserve fuel tanks. On a clear day, Knuth was piloting a Pan Am Constellation Monarch of the Skies when a small private plane collided into its backend 3,500-feet above Long Island. When relatives, friends and local witnesses gather in memory of the crash this weekend, members of the historical society will meet them privately to record their recollections. He tried to keep in the Christmas spirit for his girls. The left outboard flap and spoiler skin were heavily sooted underneath caked mud. [15] He had a total flying time of 6,066 hours, including 76 hours in the Boeing 707. I still like Christmas very much, he said. [18]:36[28], The aircraft involved in the crash, N709PA, before being delivered to Pan Am, United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge, "Aircraft Accident Report: Pan American World Airways Inc Boeing 707-121, N709PA Near Elkton, Maryland December 8, 1963", "Pan Am system time table, December 1-31, 1963", "81 on Jet Killed in Flaming Crash Near Elkton, MD", "Plane Crew Witnessed, Told About Crash of Jet Airliner", "First Emergency Responder to Arrive on Scene of 1963 Plane Crash Recalls Tragic Night", "81 Killed as Phila.-Bound Jet Crashes in Storm Near Elkton", "50 years later, witnesses, families recall Flight 214 crash", "Key to Crash Mystery Found in Jet Debris", "2 in Tiny Plane Are Killed As It Rips Clipper in Flight", "Eyewitnesses Bear Out Supposition That Airliner Was Hit By Lightning", "Lessons Learned from Civil Aviation Accidents: Pan Am Flight 214 at Elkton, MarylandAccident overview", "Lessons Learned from Civil Aviation Accidents: Pan Am Flight 214 at Elkton, MarylandResulting Safety Initiatives", "Program for Investigation of Aircraft Lightning Protection Measures", Pan Am Flight 214 Accident Report Civil Aeronautics Board, A Pan American promotional film that features Clipper Tradewind (N709PA), A picture of the aircraft involved in the accident, Another photograph of the aircraft involved, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pan_Am_Flight_214&oldid=1134143929, In-flight explosion and break up caused by, This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 05:42. Although physical evidence of the means by which ignition occurred was not found, the likelihood of ignition by lightning is not ruled out. Movement of the probe across parts checked induced voltage into probe coils and results were shown in micro amperes. Our obligation is to document history, and this was a sad one, but a formative one, Dixon said. Then, with Kennedys assassination on Nov. 22, the year turned bleak. Seventy-two witnesses said that the ball of fire occurred at the same time as, or immediately after, the lightning strike. [28] The committee agreed to conduct both long-range and short-range studies of the impact of lightning on aircraft fuel systems, and potential measures to defeat such hazards. I was just a small boy at the time and never heard about it previously. Alongside the story of the Elkton crash, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported it was the seventh disaster involving a Boeing 707. At 7:35 p.m. EST, Flight 214 made an intermediate stop at Friendship . The crew elected to remain at 5,000 feet (1,500m) in a holding pattern with five other aircraft. Additionally, 28 witnesses saw objects fall from the aircraft in flight and 48 described portions of the aircraft they observed to be in flames. Following is a list of passengers on the Pan American Boeing 747 airliner who were killed in the Canary Islands crash, as provided Monday to The Associated Press by Pan American officials:. Mt. There was an error processing your request. 1, a schematic of the B-707 fuel system. [1]:14 Experts had still not concluded that lightning had caused the accident, but they were investigating how lightning could have triggered the explosion. There was never a second thought about putting the Knuth children on planes after the crash. The largest single indication of lightning damage was an irregular shaped hole about 11/2 inches in diameter. Then the wing of the plane rotated in the sky as it was falling. [18]:36[28] Passive flame arrestors were also added to internal vent pipes to help extinguish any flames that make it past the first stage arrestors. The Federal Aviation Agency is implementing research and test programs to accomplish, in the main, the Coordinating Research Council's recommendations. https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Aircraft_Accident_Report:_Pan_Am_Flight_214&oldid=11128768. [13], In 1959, the aircraft had been involved in an incident in which the right outboard engine was torn from the wing during a training flight in France. If you forget it, you'll be able to recover it using your email address. Approximately 95 percent of the tape was reassembled and read out. You werent obligated to do it, but you wanted to do it, you wanted to help your neighbor in need, he said. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Pan Am Flight 73, The Terrorist Hijacking That Left 20 Dead There was an area of extensive damage on the top surface of the tip along the end rib, in and adjacent to the joint where the wing tip cap and the top wing skin were attached to the end rib. He always had a big garden, even when living on Long Island. Immediately thereafter, the aircraft was observed to be on fire. It was a cold night and snowing. There was a nurse, an employee of Campbell Soup, a furniture dealer, a real estate broker and several dentists. Under the leadership of commercial aviation pioneer Juan Trippe, the . that is degrading to another person. Three other persons saw a ball of fire appear at the fork or one end of the lightning stroke. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 707-321B powered by Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B engines. Inside a hijack: The unheard stories of the Pan Am 73 crew Pan American Flight 214, a Boeing 707-121, N709PA, departed Friendship International Airport, Baltimore, Maryland, for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 2024 [1] December 8, 1963. The right outboard flap showed heavy fire damage and the bottom skin was burned away. Gilbert, then 15, was watching Bonanza with his younger sister when the news broke there had been a plane crash.

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