Pan Am Flight 845

Common card · No. 462743

Pan Am Flight 845 was a scheduled international passenger flight between Los Angeles and Tokyo, with an intermediate stop at San Francisco. The flight was operated by a Boeing 747 registered N747PA and named Clipper America. On July 30, 1971, at 15:29 PDT, while it was taking off from San Francisco International Airport bound for Tokyo, the aircraft struck approach lighting system structures located past the end of the runway; this initial mishap seriously injured two passengers and caused significant physical damage to both the runway structures and the aircraft. The crew continued the takeoff, flew out over the ocean, circled while dumping fuel, and returned to SFO. After coming to a stop, the crew ordered an emergency evacuation, during which 27 passengers were injured exiting the aircraft, eight of whom suffered serious back injuries. The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which determined the probable cause was the pilot's use of incorrect...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Federal Aviation Administration, Public domain