Status:
Date:	22 JUL 1973
Time:	22:06
Type:	Boeing 707-321B
Operator:	Pan American World Airways
Registration:	N417PA
C/n / msn:	18959/470
First flight:	1966
Engines:	4 Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B
Crew:	Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10
Passengers:	Fatalities: 68 / Occupants: 69
Total:	Fatalities: 78 / Occupants: 79
Airplane damage:	Destroyed
Airplane fate:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:	3 km (1.9 mls) NE off Papeete-Faaa Airport (PPT), Tahiti (French Polynesia)
Phase:	En route (ENR)
Nature:	International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:	Papeete-Faaa Airport (PPT/NTAA), French Polynesia
Destination airport:	Honolulu International Airport, HI (HNL/PHNL), United States of America
Flightnumber:	816

Narrative:
PanAm flight PA816 was a regular flight from Auckland (AKL) to Los Angeles (LAX) with intermediate stops at Papeete, Tahiti (PPT) and San Francisco (SFO)
Boeing 707 "Clipper Winged Racer" took off from runway 04 at Papeete-Faaa Airport for it's second leg of the flight. The airplane climbed to a hight of 300 feet and initiated a left turn. It began to descen with an excessive bank turn and struck the sea. The wreckage sank into the 700m deep waters off Papeete. Both CVR and FDR were not recovered.

PROBABLE CAUSE: Unknown. It is considered possible that an instrument failure may have diverted the crew's attention during the turn. Since it was dark outside and the turn was made towards the sea. no visual references were available.

Events:

Sources:
» Aviation Disasters / D. Gero (p. 118)
» Flight International 28.05.1977 (1472)

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