47 Years ago today: On 22 July 1973 a Pan American World Airways Boeing 707-321B crashed into the sea near Papeete; killing 78 out of 79 occupants.
| Date: | Sunday 22 July 1973 |
| Time: | 22:06 |
| Type: | Boeing 707-321B |
| Operator: | Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) |
| Registration: | N417PA |
| C/n / msn: | 18959/470 |
| First flight: | 1966 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 27314 |
| Engines: | 4 Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 68 / Occupants: 69 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 78 / Occupants: 79 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | 3 km (1.9 mls) NE off Papeete-Faaa Airport (PPT), Tahiti ( |
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | International Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Papeete-Faaa Airport (PPT/NTAA), French Polynesia |
| Destination airport: | Los Angeles International Airport, CA (LAX/KLAX), United States of America |
| Flightnumber: | PA816 |
Narrative:
PanAm flight PA816 was a regular flight from Auckland (AKL) to Los Angeles (LAX) with an intermediate stop at Papeete, Tahiti (PPT).
Boeing 707 “Clipper Winged Racer” took off from runway 04 at Papeete-Faaa Airport for it’s second leg of the flight. The airplane climbed to a height of 300 feet and initiated a left turn. It began to descend with an excessive bank turn and struck the sea. The wreckage sank into the 700 m deep waters off Papeete. Both CVR and FDR were not recovered.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: Unknown. It is considered possible that an instrument failure may have diverted the crew’s attention during the turn. Since it was dark outside and the turn was made towards the sea. No visual references were available.
