NC16734 Samoan Clipper (foreground), moored at Auckland, New Zealand in 1937. | |
Accident | |
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Date | January 11, 1938 |
Summary | In-flight explosion |
Site | Pago Pago, American Samoa 14°8′20″S 170°51′0″W / 14.13889°S 170.85000°W / -14.13889; -170.85000 |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Sikorsky S-42B |
Aircraft name | Samoan Clipper (formerly Pan American Clipper II) |
Operator | Pan Am |
Registration | NC16734 |
Flight origin | Honolulu, Hawaii |
1st stopover | Kingman Reef |
2nd stopover | Pago Pago, American Samoa |
Destination | Auckland, New Zealand |
Passengers | 0 |
Crew | 7 |
Fatalities | 7 |
Survivors | 0 |
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
- Accident description for NC16734 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 6 October 2013.
- Aircraft accident report from Bureau of Air Commerce, 1 April 1938.
External links
- 1938 flights to and from New Zealand
- Airmail items carried on outward trip
- Samoan Clipper at http://planecrashinfo.com
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Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1930s | |
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1931 |
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1934 |
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1935 |
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1937 |
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1938 |
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1939 |
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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) | |
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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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- Individual aircraft
- Airliner accidents and incidents involving in-flight explosions
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- Airliner accidents and incidents in American Samoa
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- 1938 in American Samoa
- Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1938
- American Samoa stubs