1971 aviation accident in California, United States
Pan Am Flight 845
N747PA at Frankfurt Airport in 1984, 12.5 years after the incident
Accident
Date
July 30, 1971
Summary
Struck structures past runway on takeoff (pilot error)
Site
San Francisco Int'l Airport San Mateo County, California United States
Aircraft
Aircraft type
Boeing 747-121
Aircraft name
Clipper America Later: Clipper Sea Lark Clipper Juan T. Trippe
Operator
Pan Am
Registration
N747PA
Flight origin
Los Angeles, California
Stopover
San Francisco Int'l Airport
Destination
Haneda International Airport, Japan
Occupants
218
Passengers
199
Crew
19
Fatalities
0
Injuries
29
Survivors
218
Pan Am Flight 845 was a scheduled international passenger flight between Los Angeles and Tokyo, with an intermediate stop at San Francisco.[1] The flight was operated by a Boeing 747 registered N747PA and named Clipper America.
On July 30, 1971, at 15:29 PDT, while it was taking off from San Francisco International Airport bound for Tokyo, the aircraft struck approach lighting system structures located past the end of the runway; this initial mishap seriously injured two passengers and caused significant physical damage to both the runway structures and the aircraft.
The crew continued the takeoff, flew out over the ocean, circled while dumping fuel, and returned to SFO. After coming to a stop, the crew ordered an emergency evacuation, during which 27 passengers were injured exiting the aircraft, eight of whom suffered serious back injuries.[1][2][3]
The accident was investigated by the NTSB, which determined the probable cause was the pilot's use of incorrect takeoff reference speeds. The NTSB also found various procedural failures in the dissemination and retrieval of flight safety information, which had contributed to the accident.[1]
^ abc"Aircraft Accident Report - Pan American World Airways, Inc., Boeing 747, N747PA, Flight 845, San Francisco, California, July 30, 1971" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. 1972-05-24. NTSB-AAR-72-17. Retrieved 2016-06-12. - Copy at Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University.
^
Thompson, Nigel; Halliday, Ricky-Dene, eds. (1984). Airliner Production List 1984/85. London: Aviation Data Centre. p. 231. ISBN 0-946141-09-6.
^Cite error: The named reference asn was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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