| Date: | Sunday 22 July 1973 |
| Time: | 22:06 |
| Type: |  Boeing 707-321B |
| Owner/operator: | Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) |
| Registration: | N417PA |
| MSN: | 18959/470 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1966 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 27314 hours |
| Engine model: | P&W JT3D-3B |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 78 / Occupants: 79 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 3 km NE off Papeete-Faaa Airport (PPT), Tahiti -
 French Polynesia
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Papeete-Faaa Airport (PPT/NTAA) |
| Los Angeles International Airport, CA (LAX/KLAX) | |
| Investigating agency: | BEA |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Pan Am flight 816, a Boeing 707-300, crashed into the sea after takeoff from Papeete-Faaa Airport, Tahiti, killing 78 occupants; one survived the accident.
Flight PA816 was a regular flight from Auckland (AKL) to Los Angeles (LAX) with an intermediate stop at Papeete, Tahiti (PPT).
Boeing 707 "Clipper Winged Racer" took off from runway 04 at Papeete-Faaa Airport for its second leg of the flight. The airplane climbed to a height of 300 feet and initiated a left turn. It began to descend with an excessive bank turn and struck the sea. The wreckage sank into the 700 m 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.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
BEA
Location
Images:
photo (c) Kjell Nilsson; Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN/ESSA); 17 August 1972
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar-2025 07:27 | ASN | Updated [Source, Accident report, ] |
| 25-Mar-2025 07:45 | ASN | Updated |
| 25-Mar-2025 07:45 | ASN | Updated |
| 14-Apr-2025 08:36 | ASN | Updated [Phase, Narrative, ] |
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