Pan Am Flight 7
Encyclopedia
Pan Am Flight 7, registration N90944, Clipper Romance Of The Skies, was an around-the-world-flight originating in San Francisco that flew westbound with several stops before arriving in Philadelphia. On the morning of November 8, 1957 the aircraft, a Boeing 377, departed San Francisco on its first leg to Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...

 at 11:51am PST. Last contact with the aircraft consisted of a routine radio transmission between the pilot in command and a US Coast Guard cutter performing radar surveillance duty at Ocean Station November located at the approximate halfway point between the mainland and Oahu. The flight never arrived in Hawaii.

Crash and recovery

The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

reported on Nov. 9, "The Coast Guard sent out a search plane to look for the airliner, which carried 36 passengers and a crew of eight. The Coast Guard also alerted crews of two cutters to be ready to take part in the search. United Press International
United Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...

 (UPI) reported that the Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...

 submarines Cusk and Carbonaro were the closest vessels to the point where the plane was last reported and were diverted to the search. The last radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 report from the plane came when Capt. G. H. Brown made a routine check."

The search response grew in size until it was reported to be the largest deployed in peace time since the failed search for Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...

. On November 14 the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

 USS Philippine Sea
USS Philippine Sea (CV-47)
USS Philippine Sea was one of 24 s built during and shortly after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the first US Navy ship to bear the name, and was named for the 1944 Battle of the Philippine Sea. Philippine Sea was commissioned in May 1946, too late to serve in World War II...

 spotted bodies and small pieces of wreckage identified as coming from the missing aircraft floating on the ocean.
Toxicology results performed under the auspices of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office showed higher than normal levels of carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...

in a few of the remain sets recovered that suggested, but did not prove, that carbon monoxide poisoning may have been a factor in the crash.

The definitive cause of the accident has never been determined. Present interest in the mystery of the Romance of the Skies includes speculation by friends and family of the flight crew that the plane may have been lost due to a malfunctioning engine, a disgruntled flight crew member, or part of an insurance related fraud that involved an explosive device placed aboard the aircraft.
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