 A Lockheed Constellation L-1049, similar to the aircraft involved | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | March 16, 1962 |
| Summary | Disappearance, possible in-flight explosion |
| Site | Unknown Last known position: 13°40′N 140°0′E / 13.667°N 140.000°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Lockheed Constellation L-1049H |
| Operator | Flying Tiger Line |
| Registration | N6921C |
| Flight origin | Travis Air Force Base (SUU) California, U.S. |
| 1st stopover | Honolulu (HNL) |
| 2nd stopover | Wake Island Airfield (AWK) |
| 3rd stopover | Guam (UAM) |
| Last stopover | Clark Air Base (CRK), Philippines |
| Destination | Saigon (SGN), South Vietnam |
| Occupants | 107 |
| Passengers | 96 |
| Crew | 11 |
| Fatalities | 107 (presumed) |
| Survivors | 0 (presumed) |
Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 (FT739/FTL739) was a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation propliner that disappeared on March 16, 1962, over the western Pacific Ocean. The aircraft, which had been chartered by the United States Army, was transporting ninety-six military passengers from Travis Air Force Base in California to Tan Son Nhut International Airport in Saigon, South Vietnam. After refueling at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, the Super Constellation disappeared while en route to Clark Air Base in the Philippines. All 107 aboard were declared missing and presumed dead.
The airliner's disappearance prompted one of the largest air and sea searches in the history of the Pacific. Aircraft and surface ships from four branches of the U.S. military searched more than 144,000 square miles (370,000 km2) during the course of eight days. A civilian tanker observed what appeared to be an in-flight explosion believed to be the missing Super Constellation, though no trace of wreckage or debris was ever recovered.
The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) determined that, based on the tanker's observations, Flight 739 probably exploded in-flight, though an exact cause could not be determined without examining the remnants of the aircraft. This was the deadliest single-aircraft aviation accident involving the Super Constellation.
It is the (presumed) second deadliest aircraft disappearance, behind Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.