Pan Am Flight 845/26 - Misplaced Pages

1955 aircraft ditching into the Pacific Ocean

Pan Am Flight 845/26
Accident
A Pan Am Stratocruiser similar to the one involved in the accident.
Date	March 26, 1955 (1955-03-26)
Summary	Engine separation, water ditching
Site	Pacific Ocean 35 miles (56 km) West of Oregon, United States 43°48′15″N 125°12′40″W / 43.80417°N 125.21111°W / 43.80417; -125.21111
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-26
Aircraft name	Clipper United States
Operator	Pan American World Airways
Registration	N1032V
Flight origin	Seattle-Tacoma, Washington
1st stopover	Portland International Airport
2nd stopover	Honolulu International Airport
Destination	Sydney, Australia
Passengers	15
Crew	8
Fatalities	4
Injuries	unknown
Survivors	19

Pan Am Flight 845/26 was a four-engined Boeing 377 Stratocruiser named Clipper United States and registered as N1032V. It departed Portland International Airport in Oregon on a flight to Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii on March 26, 1955. The aircraft was en route and about 35 miles (56 km) off the Oregon coast when at 11:12 Pacific Standard Time the No. 3 engine and propeller tore loose from the wing causing a loss of control. The aircraft was ditched.

The aircraft floated for twenty minutes before sinking in 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) of water. Approximately two hours after the aircraft ditched, the United States Navy attack transport USS Bayfield (APA-33) arrived on the scene and rescued the 19 survivors. Four people died.

The probable cause was failure of No. 3 propeller which caused the engine to detach and the aircraft to become uncontrollable.

The experience provided lessons that helped prevent any casualties in another ditching the following year, when Pan Am Flight 6 sank between Honolulu and San Francisco.

References

ICAO Accident Digest Circular 50-AN/45 (92-96)
"Hobbs v. Franklin life insurance" The Federal Reporter 1958-05-22

"March 26, 1955: Pan Am Flight 845/26 Crashes Off Oregon Coast". Dave Knows Portland. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2015.

External links

CAB Accident Investigation Report File No. 1-0039 U.S. Department of Transportation Archived Report - Civil Aeronautics Board
Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network

Pan Am

Employees

Juan Trippe

History

Accidents &
incidents

Samoan Clipper (1938)
Hawaii Clipper (1938)
Sikorsky S-43 crash (1939)
Flight 1104 (1943)
China Clipper (1945)
Flight 121 (1947)
Flight 923 (1947)
Flight 1-10 (1948)
Flight 151 (1951)
Flight 526A (1952)
Flight 202 (1952)
Flight 845/26 (1955)
Flight 6 (1956)
Flight 7 (1957)
Flight 115 (1959)
Clipper Panama (1959)
Flight 214 (1963)
Flight 843 (1965)
Flight 292 (1965)
Flight 708 (1966)
Flight 799 (1968)
Flight 845 (1971)
Flight 841 (1972)
Flight 816 (1973)
Flight 806 (1974)
Flight 812 (1974)
Flight 1736 (1977)
Flight 830 (1982)
Flight 759 (1982)
Flight 73 (1986)
Flight 103 (1988)

1985 Pan Am strike

Subsidiaries

Pan Am Express, Uraba, Medellin and Central Airways

See also: Boeing B-17 family

v t e Airliner accidents and incidents involving ditching
1950s	Pan Am Flight 526A (April 1952) Swissair Convair CV-240 crash (June 1954) KLM Flight 633 (September 1954) Pan Am Flight 845/26 (March 1955) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2 (April 1956) Pan Am Flight 6 (October 1956)
1960s	Aeroflot Flight 366 (August 1963) Japan Airlines Flight 2 (November 1968)
1970s	ALM Flight 980 (May 1970)
1990s	Faucett Perú Boeing 727 disappearance (September 1990) Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 (November 1996)
2000s	Marsa Brega Short 360 crash (January 2000) Whyalla Airlines Flight 904 (May 2000) Garuda Indonesia Flight 421 (January 2002) Laoag International Airlines Flight 585 (November 2002) Tuninter Flight 1153 (August 2005) US Airways Flight 1549 (January 2009)
2010s	Angara Airlines Flight 9007 (July 2011)
2020s	Transair Flight 810 (July 2021)

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1955 (1955)
Jan 11 RAF Shackleton aircraft disappearanceJan 12 Cincinnati mid-air collisionFeb 13 Sabena Flight 503Feb 19 TWA Flight 260Mar 20 American Airlines Flight 711Mar 22 Hawaii R6D-1 crashMar 26 Pan Am Flight 845/26Apr 4 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crashApr 11 Kashmir PrincessJul 27 El Al Flight 402Aug 4 American Airlines Flight 476Aug 6 Aeroflot Flight 214Aug 11 Altensteig mid-air collisionOct 6 United Airlines Flight 409Nov 1 United Airlines Flight 629
1954 ◄ ► 1956

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1955 (1955)

Jan 11 RAF Shackleton aircraft disappearanceJan 12 Cincinnati mid-air collisionFeb 13 Sabena Flight 503Feb 19 TWA Flight 260Mar 20 American Airlines Flight 711Mar 22 Hawaii R6D-1 crashMar 26 Pan Am Flight 845/26Apr 4 MacArthur Airport United Airlines crashApr 11 Kashmir PrincessJul 27 El Al Flight 402Aug 4 American Airlines Flight 476Aug 6 Aeroflot Flight 214Aug 11 Altensteig mid-air collisionOct 6 United Airlines Flight 409Nov 1 United Airlines Flight 629

1954 ◄ ► 1956

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1950s
1950	Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 307 (March 1950) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2501 (June 1950) Myrtle Beach USAF C-46D crash (July 1950) Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash (August 1950)
1951	National Airlines Flight 83 (January 1951) Cubana de Aviación Flight 493 (April 1951) United Air Lines Flight 610 (June 1951) United Air Lines Flight 615 (August 1951) Miami Airlines C-46 crash (December 16 1951) Continental Charters Flight 44-2 (December 29 1951)
1952	American Airlines Flight 6780 (January 1952) National Airlines Flight 101 (February 1952) Pan Am Flight 526A (April 1952) American Airlines Flight 910 (June 1952) Mount Gannett C-124 crash (November 22 1952)* Tacoma C-54 crash (November 28 1952) Moses Lake C-124 crash (December 1952)
1953	National Airlines Flight 470 (February 1953) Transocean Air Lines Flight 942 (March 1953) Western Air Lines Flight 636 (April 1953) Delta Air Lines Flight 318 (May 1953) USMC R4Q NROTC crash (July 1953) American Airlines Flight 723 (September 1953) BCPA Flight 304 (October 1953)
1954	Western Air Lines Flight 34 (February 1954}
1955	Cincinnati mid-air collision (January 1955) TWA Flight 260 (February 1955) American Airlines Flight 711 (March 20 1955) Hawaii R6D-1 crash (March 22 1955)* Pan Am Flight 845/26 (March 26 1955) MacArthur Airport United Airlines crash (April 1955) American Airlines Flight 476 (August 1955) United Air Lines Flight 409 (October 1955) United Air Lines Flight 629 (November 1955)
1956	TWA Flight 400 (April 1 1956) Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2 (April 2 1956) Grand Canyon mid-air collision (June 1956) Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 304 (July 9 1956) United States Air Force Flight 441/13 (July 13 1956)
1957	American Airlines Flight 327 (January 6 1957) Pacoima mid-air collision (January 31 1957) Northeast Airlines Flight 823 (February 1957) Northeast Airlines Flight 285 (September 1957)
1958	Capital Airlines Flight 67 (April 1958) Capital Airlines Flight 300 (May 1958) Westover Air Force Base KC-135 crash (June 1958) Northeast Airlines Flight 258 (August 1958)
1959	Southeast Airlines Flight 308 (January 1959) The Day the Music Died (February 3 1959) American Airlines Flight 320 (February 3 1959) Capital Airlines Flight 75 (May 1959) American Airlines Flight 514 (August 1959) Braniff International Airways Flight 542 (September 1959) Piedmont Airlines Flight 349 (October 1959) National Airlines Flight 967 (November 1959) Allegheny Airlines Flight 371 (December 1 1959) San Diego F3H crash (December 4 1959)
This list is incomplete. An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in a U.S. territory, including Alaska and Hawaii prior to statehood. 1940–1949 ◄ 1950–1959 ► 1960–1969

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