 A Pan Am Stratocruiser, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | November 8, 1957 |
| Summary | Crash, cause undetermined |
| Site | Pacific Ocean 29°26′N 143°34′W / 29.433°N 143.567°W[1]: 5 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-29 |
| Aircraft name | Clipper Romance of the Skies |
| Operator | Pan American World Airways |
| Registration | N90944 |
| Flight origin | San Francisco International Airport |
| Destination | Honolulu International Airport |
| Occupants | 44 |
| Passengers | 36 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 44 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Pan Am Flight 7 was a westbound round-the-world flight operated by Pan American World Airways. On November 8, 1957, the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-29 serving the flight, named Clipper Romance of the Skies, crashed in the Pacific Ocean en route to Honolulu International Airport from San Francisco. The crash killed all 36 passengers and eight crew members.
The flight's fate was not known until about nine hours after its last known radio transmission, by which point the plane would have run out of fuel. No radio reports of any emergencies were received from the flight crew. Under the assumption that the plane could have survived a controlled landing on the ocean surface, the United States Coast Guard launched an extensive search for the plane and any survivors. The week-long hunt became the largest search and rescue operation in the Pacific Ocean up to that date. The bodies of 19 of the victims and pieces of the plane were eventually recovered about 900 nautical miles (1,000 mi; 1,700 km) northeast of Honolulu.
Investigations into the cause of the crash were inconclusive. Despite theories that the plane may have been the victim of sabotage, poor maintenance, or in-flight fire, investigators could not find enough evidence to support any definite conclusion. The final report from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), which conducted the investigation, concluded that the board did not have enough evidence to determine the cause of the accident.