A Pan Am Boeing 707-121 aircraft similar to the aircraft involved in the crash
Accident
Date
December 8, 1963
Summary
In-flight explosion and break up caused by lightning strike
Site
Elkton, Maryland, United States 39°36′47.8″N75°47′29.7″W / 39.613278°N 75.791583°W / 39.613278; -75.791583
Aircraft
Aircraft type
Boeing 707-121
Aircraft name
Clipper Tradewind
Operator
Pan American World Airways
IATA flight No.
PA214
ICAO flight No.
PAA214
Call sign
CLIPPER 214
Registration
N709PA
Flight origin
Isla Verde International Airport
Stopover
Friendship Airport
Destination
Philadelphia Int'l Airport
Occupants
81
Passengers
73
Crew
8
Fatalities
81
Survivors
0
Pan Am Flight 214 was a scheduled flight of Pan American World Airways from Isla Verde International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Friendship Airport near Baltimore, and then to Philadelphia International Airport. On December 8, 1963, while flying from Baltimore to Philadelphia, the Boeing 707-121 serving the flight crashed near Elkton, Maryland. All 81 occupants of the plane were killed. The crash was Pan Am's first fatal accident with the 707, which it had introduced to its fleet five years earlier.
An investigation by the Civil Aeronautics Board concluded that the probable cause of the crash was a lightning strike that had ignited fuel vapors in one of the aircraft's fuel tanks, causing an explosion that destroyed one of the wings. The exact manner of ignition was never determined, but the investigation increased awareness of how lightning can damage aircraft, leading to new regulations that resulted in safety improvements. The crash also inspired research into the safety of various types of aviation fuel and into ways of changing the design of aircraft fuel systems to make them safer in the event of lightning strikes.
PanAmFlight214 was a scheduled flight of Pan American World Airways from Isla Verde International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Friendship Airport...
17, 1963, nine days after the crash of PanAmFlight214. The crash of TWA Flight 800, and that of ValuJet Flight 592 earlier in 1996, prompted Congress...
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Sunday (1963), the deadliest lightning strike on record involving PanAmFlight214, or The Clipper Tradewind, a Boeing 707-121 that crashed in Maryland...
board at the time of the explosion. Philippine Airlines Flight 143 TWA Flight 800 PanAmFlight214 "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-4D7 HS-TDC Bangkok...
first flown in 1954, the initial 707-120 first flew on December 20, 1957. PanAm began regular 707 service on October 26, 1958. With versions produced until...
and Incident Investigation Commission Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108 PanAmFlight214 "Accident to aircraft FAIRCHILD SA226-AT Metro II, registration...
discharges (streamer corona) which developed on the vent outlets." PanAmFlight214, another crash caused by lightning TWA Plane, 68 aboard, Crashes Near...
Sometimes, though, the effects of a strike are serious. 1963 December 8: PanAmFlight214 crashed outside Elkton, Maryland, during a severe electrical storm...
and landed safely at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. PanAmFlight214 crashed near Elkton, Maryland, on December 8, 1963, after being struck...
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N709 (Bangladesh), the Khulna City Bypass N709PA the registration of PanAmFlight214 which was destroyed by lightning This disambiguation page lists articles...
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loss of control during severe turbulence. December 8, 1963 81 0 0 PanAmFlight214 Elkton Maryland Boeing 707-121 The aircraft was struck by lightning...
(this later increases to nine) go on strike for 114 days. 1963 – PanAmFlight214, a Boeing 707, is struck by lightning and crashes near Elkton, Maryland...
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kidnapped at Harrah's Lake Tahoe. A lightning strike causes the crash of PanAmFlight214 near Elkton, Maryland, killing 81 people. December 10 The X-20 Dyna-Soar...
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