The remains of a plane destined for New York in 1952, which tragically crashed, claiming 52 lives, have been discovered 74 years after the incident.
A Pan American Airways aircraft departed from Puerto Rico on Good Friday, heading for what is now JFK International Airport in New York City.
The plane, named the Clipper Endeavour, carried 64 passengers and five crew members. Shortly after departure, both engines on the right side of the plane, similar in size to a modern Boeing 737, failed.
The pilots executed a forceful water landing in the Atlantic Ocean, initially ensuring the survival of all on board. Due to the absence of standard pre-flight safety briefings at the time, chaos ensued during the emergency.
According to reports from the Daily Mail, 52 individuals drowned as the plane sank underwater in less than three minutes. The wreckage remained on the seabed for 74 years due to its unreachable depth.
However, on June 2 of this year, after a seven-year investigation led by the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation in collaboration with Deep Sea Vision, an Eco Minerals Company, and the Discovery Channel’s Expedition Unknown, the wreckage was finally located.
Josh Gates, the host of the show, expressed, “Witnessing the gleaming aluminum fuselage reflecting from the ocean floor was a profoundly emotional moment.” The search was aided by the research vessel Fugro Brasilis, equipped with one of the world’s most advanced autonomous underwater vehicles.
This vehicle had the capability to scan depths of up to 20,000 feet on the ocean floor and could remain submerged for up to four days at a stretch. It successfully identified the broken remnants of the Clipper Endeavour lying on the seabed.