Cody Casey
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was once the largest international airline in the US. The airline suffered a total of 95 incidents, including crashes, hijackings, and bombings. One of the most infamous incidents was the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988, which killed 259 passengers and crew, as well as 11 Scots on the ground. Other notable incidents include the crash of Flight 1736 in 1977, which resulted in 583 casualties, and the hijacking of Flight 299, the first hijacking of a Boeing 747. With a long history of accidents and incidents, Pan Am's reputation was significantly impacted, contributing to its eventual demise.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Total number of incidents | 95 |
| Number of crashes | 11 |
| Number of hijackings | 3 |
| Number of bombings | 2 |
| Number of fatalities | 754 |
| Worst incident | Flight 1736 |
| Worst incident fatalities | 583 |
| Worst crash | Flight 759 |
| Worst crash fatalities | 153 |
| Worst hijacking | Flight 93 |
| Worst bombing | Flight 103 |
| Worst bombing fatalities | 270 |
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What You'll Learn
Pan Am Flight 160 crash
On November 3, 1973, Pan Am Flight 160, a cargo flight from JFK Airport in New York City to Frankfurt, Germany, crashed, likely due to improperly packaged hazardous materials. The aircraft, carrying 52,912 lbs of cargo, including 15,360 lbs of chemicals, crashed less than 100 yards from the runway at Boston's Logan International Airport. All three crew members died on impact when the fuel tanks exploded, sending a fireball over Logan Airport and burning debris into Boston Harbour.
The crew had reported smoke in the electronic equipment centre under the cockpit shortly after departing JFK and had planned to land in Boston, but this was changed back to JFK before changing again. The smoke became so thick that the crew lost control of the plane. Witnesses reported seeing smoke streaming from the cockpit before the plane crashed.
The National Transportation Safety Board attributed the crash to inadequate regulations for the air shipment of hazardous materials and lax enforcement by the company and the Federal Aviation Administration of existing regulations. The investigation revealed that numerous hazardous materials, including nitric acid, had not been packaged according to regulations.
The crash of Pan Am Flight 160 led to the enactment of the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act of 1975, highlighting the importance of the safe and compliant shipment of hazardous materials. The accident also revealed several safety assumptions that were not properly questioned until much later.
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Pan Am Flight 1736 crash
Pan Am Flight 1736 was a charter flight operated by a Boeing 747-121 named Clipper Victor. The aircraft originated at Los Angeles International Airport and had an intermediate stop at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The flight was carrying 380 passengers, most of whom were of retirement age, and 13 flight attendants. The new crew consisted of Captain Victor Grubbs, First Officer Robert Bragg, and Flight Engineer George Warns.
On March 27, 1977, Flight 1736 collided on the runway with KLM Flight 4805, a Boeing 747, at Los Rodeos Airport (now Tenerife North Airport) in the Canary Islands. The KLM captain initiated the takeoff without ATC clearance during dense fog, unaware that the Pan Am flight was still on the runway. The impact and resulting fire killed all 248 people on board the KLM plane and 335 of 396 people on board the Pan Am flight, making it the deadliest disaster in aviation history with a total of 583 casualties.
The right-side engines of the KLM flight crashed through the upper deck of the Pan Am flight, instantly killing those seated there. The Pan Am aircraft was also severely damaged, with the number four engine slicing through the upper deck. The KLM plane remained briefly airborne but ultimately stalled, rolled sharply, and hit the ground about 150 meters past the collision. The full load of fuel ignited immediately, creating a fireball that could not be subdued for several hours.
The accident was attributed to several factors, including the ambiguous transmission from the control tower, which could have been interpreted as giving takeoff clearance to the KLM flight. Additionally, the Pan Am crew's transmission indicating they were still taxiing on the runway was blocked by interference and inaudible to the KLM crew. The dense fog also played a role, as neither crew could see the other plane on the runway, and the airport lacked ground radar to provide clear visibility to the control tower.
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Pan Am Flight 759 crash
On July 9, 1982, Pan Am Flight 759, a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from Miami to San Diego with en route stops in New Orleans and Las Vegas, crashed in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner. The Boeing 727 flying this route was forced down by a microburst shortly after takeoff, during a thunderstorm. All 145 passengers and crew on board, as well as eight people on the ground, were killed, bringing the total death toll to 153. The aircraft involved, a 14-year-old Boeing 727-235, was delivered to National Airlines in 1968 and renamed Clipper Defiance after National was merged with Pan Am. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was carrying 137 passengers, one non-revenue passenger in the cockpit jump seat, and a crew of seven.
Witnesses reported that a wind shear alert was mentioned on New Orleans Airport radio frequencies before Flight 759 took off. However, the flight crew had only received a recorded weather advisory that was two hours old, despite the airport routine of providing hourly recordings of weather information. This crucial lapse in up-to-date information resulted in millions of dollars in compensation payouts to the affected families.
The aftermath of the crash saw Flight 759, along with Delta Air Lines Flight 191, which faced similar circumstances three years later, drive the development of the Airborne wind shear detection and alert system. This system was mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration, requiring the installation of windshear detection systems at airports and on board aircraft in the U.S. by 1993.
A memorial to commemorate the accident is located at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Kenner, Louisiana. The impact of the crash destroyed six homes in the area and damaged five others. Rescue workers sifted through the wreckage, recovering bodies into the night. The tail section of the plane could be seen in the background, with only a few salvageable belongings retrieved from the devastated homes.
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Pan Am Flight 103 bombing
On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103, a regularly scheduled transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via London and New York City, exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew members on board, as well as 11 residents in a residential street in Lockerbie. The bombing, which became known as the Lockerbie bombing, is the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the United Kingdom, with a total of 270 fatalities.
The plane, a Boeing 747 named "Clipper Maid of the Seas", was destroyed by a bomb while flying over Lockerbie, causing large sections of the aircraft to crash onto the town. The explosion at 30,000 feet scattered debris and victims over an 81-mile-long corridor, covering an area of 845 square miles, creating the largest crime scene ever.
Following a joint investigation by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), it was discovered that the bomb had been placed inside a radio in a piece of luggage aboard Pan Am 103. This evidence led to two Libyan intelligence operatives, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, who were charged by the British and American governments in 1991. Their trial took place in 2000 in a Scottish court built for the occasion on a former U.S. military base in the Netherlands. Al-Megrahi was found guilty of 270 counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison, while Fhimah was acquitted.
In 2003, Libya formally admitted responsibility for the bombing in a letter presented to the president of the United Nations Security Council, agreeing to pay nearly $3 billion to the victims' families. However, the letter lacked any expression of remorse for the lives lost. The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 sent shockwaves around the world and had a significant impact on how the FBI investigates international cases and serves victims of crimes.
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Pan Am Flight 299 hijacking
On September 5, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73, a Boeing 747, was hijacked by four heavily armed men dressed as security personnel. The flight, which originated in Mumbai, India, was scheduled to stop in Karachi, Pakistan, and Frankfurt, Germany, before arriving in New York. As passengers were boarding in Karachi, the hijackers stormed the plane and fired shots into the air. The flight attendants acted quickly, alerting the cockpit crew, who escaped through an emergency exit.
The 379 passengers and crew on board were held hostage as the hijackers demanded a pilot to fly them to Cyprus, where they wanted to free their "friends" from prison. To enforce their demand, the hijackers executed an American citizen, Rajesh Kumar. The hijackers' efforts to identify other Americans on board were frustrated by flight attendants who hid the passports of the remaining American passengers. The hijackers also threatened to blow up the aircraft with all passengers on board.
By about 9:00 pm, the plane's onboard power supply had been exhausted, and the lights dimmed. The hijackers forced the hostages to gather in the centre of the plane. Shortly thereafter, the plane went completely dark as the emergency power ran out. The hijackers, thinking that the plane was being assaulted by security forces, fired on the hostages with machine guns and grenades. Twenty-one hostages were killed, and numerous others were injured. Some of the hostages were able to force open escape doors, and flight attendants helped the surviving passengers flee the aircraft.
The standoff ended only when the gunmen ran out of ammunition, and members of the flight crew re-entered the aircraft to aid the wounded. All four hijackers were eventually apprehended by Pakistani police and imprisoned. The crew of Pan Am Flight 73 demonstrated remarkable bravery and composure in the face of danger, and senior flight attendant Neerja Bhanot, who was fatally wounded in the hijacking, was posthumously honoured by the Indian government for her gallantry.
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Frequently asked questions
The airline suffered a total of 95 incidents, including crashes and hijackings.
The crash of Pan Am Flight 1736 in 1977, which collided with another plane on the runway, killing 583 people in total and remains the deadliest disaster in commercial aviation history.
On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 took off from Heathrow Airport in London, bound for New York City. Less than 40 minutes into the flight, the plane exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 passengers and crew, as well as 11 Scots on the ground. The bombing was perpetrated by Libyan intelligence operatives and was one of the world's most lethal acts of air terrorism.
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