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Samoan Clipper

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Samoan Clipper
NC16734 Samoan Clipper (foreground), moored at Auckland, New Zealand in 1937.
Accident
DateJanuary 11, 1938
SummaryIn-flight explosion
SitePago Pago, American Samoa
14°8′20″S 170°51′0″W / 14.13889°S 170.85000°W / -14.13889; -170.85000
Aircraft
Aircraft typeSikorsky S-42B
Aircraft nameSamoan Clipper
(formerly Pan American Clipper II)
OperatorPan Am
RegistrationNC16734
Flight originHonolulu, Hawaii
1st stopoverKingman Reef
2nd stopoverPago Pago, American Samoa
DestinationAuckland, New Zealand
Passengers0
Crew7
Fatalities7
Survivors0

Samoan Clipper was one of ten Pan American Airways Sikorsky S-42 flying boats. It exploded near Pago Pago, American Samoa, on January 11, 1938, while piloted by aviator Edwin Musick. Musick and his crew of six died in the crash. The aircraft was carrying only airmail and express freight; no passengers were aboard.

The aircraft developed an oil leak shortly after taking off from Pago Pago harbor, and the crew decided to return to port. However, the S-42, fully loaded with fuel, was too heavy to land safely in the limited space of the harbor, so the crew elected to dump fuel before landing. While fuel dumping was in progress, there was a fire and explosion which destroyed the aircraft, killing all aboard. The exact cause of ignition for the fire could not be determined.

References

  1. Accident description for NC16734 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 6 October 2013.
  2. Aircraft accident report from Bureau of Air Commerce, 1 April 1938.

External links

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  • Category
    Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1930s
    1931
    1933
    1934
    1935
    1936
    1937
    1938
    1939
    This list is incomplete.
    An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in a U.S. territory.
    1900–1929 ◄ 1930–1939 ► 1940–1949
    Aviation accidents and incidents in 1938 (1938)
    Jan 10 Northwest Airlines Flight 2Jan 11 Sikorsky S-42 Samoan ClipperFeb 6 SSSR-V6 OsoaviakhimMar 1 TWA Flight 8Jul 24 Santa Ana air show disasterJul 28 Martin M-130 Hawaii ClipperAug 6 USSR-B10 crashAug 24 Kweilin IncidentSep 4 Edmonton, London, air crashOct 25 Kyeema crashNov 4 Jersey Airport disaster
    1937   ◄    ►   1939


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