Pan Am Flight 1-10

Pan Am Flight 1-10
Accident
Date 15 April 1948
Summary Controlled flight into terrain due to mechanical and/or electrical failure
Site Shannon, Ireland
52°42′57.86″N 8°53′55.3″W / 52.7160722°N 8.898694°W / 52.7160722; -8.898694Coordinates: 52°42′57.86″N 8°53′55.3″W / 52.7160722°N 8.898694°W / 52.7160722; -8.898694
Aircraft
Aircraft type Lockheed L-049-51-26 Constellation
Aircraft name Clipper Empress of the Skies
Operator Pan American World Airways
Registration NC88858
Flight origin San Francisco
1st stopover Calcutta
2nd stopover Damascus
3rd stopover Istanbul
4th stopover Brussels
5th stopover London
Last stopover Shannon Airport
Destination New York City
Passengers 21
Crew 10
Fatalities 30
Injuries 1
Survivors 1

Pan Am Flight 1-10 was a passenger flight from London to Shannon Airport, during a flight round the world from San Francisco, California to New York City. On 15 April 1948 it crashed 725 meters (2,379 ft) short of runway 23. 10 flight crew and 20 passengers died in the crash; 1 passenger survived with minor injuries.

Description

Pan Am Lockheed L-049 Constellation Clipper Great Republic at London Heathrow

"Pan Am Flight 1-10", flown with the Pan American Airways Lockheed Constellation, aircraft NC-88858 named "Clipper Empress of the Skies", departed from a London airport at 0:35 am.

At 1:59 am it reported to Shannon Airport that it was at the marker at Limerick Junction. The flight received clearance to land on runway 23 at 2:10 am but reported a missed approach ten minutes later. After getting a second clearance to land, it struck a stone fence 725 meters (2,379 ft) short of the runway, but perfectly aligned with it.

The initial crash ripped the plane apart. The undercarriage and the engines were torn off while the fuselage broke into three pieces. Fire destroyed the remains of the fuselage.

Cause of the accident

Building at 1825 Connecticut AV NW, Washington, that housed the Civil Aeronautics Board

The U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board investigated the crash and published its findings on 24 June 1948:

The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the continuation of an instrument approach to an altitude insufficient to clear the terrain. A contributing factor may have been the failure of the pilot's instrument fluorescent light.[1]

The flight crew had earlier reported trouble with the pilot's instrument fluorescent light. At earlier stops in Brussels and London this light had failed too, but the maintenance crew in London could not solve the case due to lack of spare parts.

Shannon Airport had earlier reported a fire in its ILS system, causing the system to fail. By the time the "Clipper Empress of the Skies" arrived, the system was again fully functional.

Passenger list

The victims of the disaster were interred in Drumcliff cemetery in Ennis, County Clare. They were buried in a communal plot with a memorial marker

Names as they appear on a headstone in the Drumcliff cemetery:

(1st column)

  • Khan Bahadur Sorabji Cama
  • Jacob Farhat
  • George Henderson
  • Agnes L. Henderson
  • Bruce K. Henderson
  • Guisseppe LaCandia
  • Guisseppe Lanza
  • Robert Menard


(2nd column)

  • Vinton Milbank
  • Caroline Milbank
  • Robert Mounier
  • Carlo Muratore
  • Luigi Pastore
  • William Peters, Jr.
  • Mumtaz Shahnawaz
  • Yacoub M. Shummara
  • Mary Louise Thompson
  • Antonio Valia


(3rd column)

  • Frank C. Jakel
  • Carlton M. Henson, Jr.
  • Everette C. Wallace
  • Hector R. LeBlanc
  • Stanley J. Frank
  • James V. Sexton
  • Bruce J. Nevers
  • John J. Hoffmeier
  • Bernadine M. Feller

References

A Capitol Airways Lockheed Constellation at Shannon Airport (1961)
  1. ↑ Clipper Empress of the Skies Accident Investigation Report Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine.
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