Get you up to speed: Wreckage of crashed plane missing for decades is finally found | News World
The wreckage of the Pan American Airways aircraft, Clipper Endeavor, was found 2000ft below sea level off the coast of Puerto Rico after it crash-landed in the Atlantic Ocean in April 1952. An expedition led by the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation and Discovery Channel successfully identified the wreck through the use of an autonomous drone on June 2.
The expedition, involving the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation and Discovery Channel’s Expedition Unknown, located the wreck of the Clipper Endeavor at a depth of 2000ft off Puerto Rico on June 2. The search was informed by historical records, including a map from air force pilots, which narrowed their focus to a specific 10 square nautical mile area.
The Air/Sea Heritage Foundation expressed profound emotion following the discovery of the Clipper Endeavor wreck, with President Russ Matthews stating, “We are all stunned and elated by this discovery, yet also humbled to remember what happened in that place so long ago.” In response to the findings, safety protocols in commercial aviation have been significantly enhanced, ensuring that airlines now detail emergency exit locations and life vest instructions for passengers.
What remains unclear — The precise circumstances leading to the multiple engine failures prior to the Clipper Endeavor’s crash are not detailed.
Wreckage of Pan American Airways Clipper Endeavor found after decades
The Pan Am logo is still visible on the wrecked aircraft (Picture: Air/Sea Heritage Foundation and Deep Sea Vision via AP)
The wreckage of the Pan American Airways plane that crash-landed in the Atlantic Ocean has finally been found.
The Clipper Endeavor was bound for New York when it suffered multiple engine failure shortly after take-off on April 11, 1952, and plunged into the ocean.
While everyone onboard survived the initial impact, the plane quickly sank, dragging passengers down with it. Just 17 of the 69 passengers and crew on board lived.
Now, an expedition to find the sunken plane has uncovered the wreckage 2000ft below sea level off the coast of Puerto Rico.
Led by the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, in partnership with the Discovery Channel’s Expedition Unknown show and a number of other organisations, teams used an autonomous drone to locate the Douglas DC-4 aircraft last month.
The aircraft went down in April 1952 (Picture: Pan Am Historical Foundation via AP)
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From left to right: Air/Sea Heritage Foundation (ASHF) President Russ Matthews, ASHF Director Idee Matthews-Montijo (left), Expedition Unknown’s Josh Gates and Deep Sea Vision President of Operations Craig Wallace (Picture: Discovery Channel via AP)
Russ Matthews, president of the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, said: ‘We are all stunned and elated by this discovery, yet also humbled to remember what happened in that place so long ago.’
The discovery came after researchers found records from a public hearing in Puerto Rico.
These included a map drawn by air force pilots who had seen the crash and weather data, allowing teams to focus their search on a 10 square nautical mile area.
The drone detected the plane’s fuselage and tail first, leading to the discovery of the rest of the aircraft – which had broken in two – on June 2.
Composite image of the Clipper Endeavor wreck (Picture: Air/Sea Heritage Foundation and Deep Sea Vision via AP)
The wreckage was confirmed to be the Clipper Endeavor in a follow-up photographic survey, which captured snaps of the Pan Am logo and the aircraft’s name on the fuselage.
‘To have a front-row seat to an expedition like this as it’s unfolding is tremendous, and so I feel really lucky that we were able to be a part of it,’ Expedition Unknown host Josh Gates said.
The crash led to an overhaul of safety procedures on commercial flights. Airlines are now required to outline the location of a plane’s emergency exits and life vests, as well as how to inflate them.
Gates added: ‘Every time you step onboard an airplane today, you are safer because of what happened to Clipper Endeavor and her passengers three-quarters of a century ago.’
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