Pan Am Clipper Endeavor wreck found nearly 75 years after fatal crash

The wreckage of the Pan Am Clipper Endeavor, a passenger aircraft that crashed off the coast of Puerto Rico in 1952, has been discovered on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean nearly 75 years after the accident, AzerNEWS reports, citing The New York Times.

An underwater research team located the aircraft using an autonomous underwater vehicle at a depth of about 600 meters (1,970 feet) and approximately 8 kilometers (5 miles) offshore.

The aircraft was operating Pan American World Airways Flight 526A, a Douglas DC-4, on a scheduled flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to New York City. Shortly after takeoff, two of the plane's four engines failed, forcing Captain John Burn to attempt an emergency water landing.

All 69 people on board survived the initial impact with the water. However, panic broke out during the evacuation as the aircraft began to break apart. The tail section separated from the fuselage, which subsequently sank beneath the surface.

A total of 52 people lost their lives in the aftermath of the crash, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents involving a ditching at the time.

On June 2, after combing a dark expanse of the seafloor with an autonomous underwater vehicle, which resembles a torpedo and is equipped with sophisticated sonar and cameras, the breakthrough came.

Image: The Pan Am Historical Foundation - Research Archives