Pan Am Flight 806

Infobox Airliner accident|name=Pan American Flight 806
Date=January 30, 1974
Type=Controlled flight into terrain
Site= 0.8 miles from Pago Pago International Airport, American Samoa
aircraft_type = Boeing 707-321B
aircraft_name = Clipper Radiant
operator = Pan American World Airways
tail_number = N454PA
origin = Auckland International Airport
stopover =
stopover0 = Pago Pago International Airport
stopover1 = Honolulu International Airport
stopover2 =
stopover3 =
last_stopover =
destination = Los Angeles International Airport
passengers = 91
crew = 10
injuries = 4
fatalities = 97
survivors = 4

Pan Am Flight 806, a Boeing 707-321B, was a scheduled flight from Auckland, New Zealand to Los Angeles, California with intermediate stops at Pago Pago, American Samoa and Honolulu, Hawaii. On January 30, 1974 it crashed on approach to Pago Pago International Airport. 87 passengers and 10 crew members were killed.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the crash was the flight crew's late recognition, and failure to correct in a timely manner, an excessive descent rate which developed as a result of the aircraft's penetration through destabilizing wind changes. The winds consisted of horizontal and vertical components produced by a heavy rainstorm and influenced by uneven terrain close to the aircraft's approach path. The captain's recognition was hampered by restricted visibility, the illusory effects of a "black hole" approach, inadequate monitoring of flight instruments, and the failure of the crew to call out descent rate during the last 15 seconds of flight.

ee also

Pan American World Airways

External links

* [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19740130-0 Aviation Safety Network accident desciption] , which links to the full NTSB report
* [http://amelia.db.erau.edu/reports/ntsb/aar/AAR77-07.pdf NTSB Accident Report] (PDF file)