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| Title: | Landed short, Pan American World Airways, Inc., Boeing 707-321B, N454PA, Pago Pago, American Samoa, January 30, 1974 |
| Micro summary: | This Boeing 707-321B crashed short of the runway in foul weather. |
| Event Time: | 1974-01-30 at 2341 American Samoa Standard Time |
| File Name: | 1974-01-30-US.pdf |
| Publishing Agency: | National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) |
| Publishing Country: | USA |
| Report number: | NTSB-AAR-77-07 |
| Pages: | 48 |
| Site of event: | Pago Pago, runway 5, 3865' short |
| Latitude/Longitude: | S14°20'55" W170°43'55" |
| Departure: | Auckland International Airport, Auckland, New Zealand |
| Destination: | Pago Pago International Airport, Pago Pago, American Samoa |
| Airplane Type(s): | Boeing 707-321B |
| Flight Phase: | Approach |
| Registration(s): | N454PA |
| Operator(s): | Pan American World Airways |
| Type of flight: | Revenue |
| Occupants: | 101 |
| Fatalities: | 97 |
| Serious Injuries: | 4 |
| Minor/Non-Injured: | 0 |
| Other Injuries: | 0 |
| Executive Summary: | On November 8, 1974, the National Transportation Safety Board adopted and subsequently issued report No. NTSB-AAR-74-15. This report contained the facts, circumstances, and conclusions that were known at that time concerning the accident described herein. On May 6, 1976, the Air Line Pilots Association petitioned the Safety Board to reconsider the probable cause in accordance with the Board's Procedural Regulation 49 CFR 831.36. As a result of the petition, the Safety Board reopened the accident investigation because of knowledge gained through other accidents after the original investigation. The aircraft's flight data recorder data, the cockpit voice recorder data, and the aircraft's engineering performance data were reevaluated extensively to determine more conclusively the effect of the existing environmental conditions on the pilots' ability to stabilize the aircraft's approach profile. The following report reflects the findings of the National Transportation Safety Board's reinvestigation. This report supercedes and replaces NTSB AAR-74-15. About 2341, American Samoa standard time, on January 30, 1974, Pan American World Airways Flight 806, crashed 3,865 feet short of runway 5 at Pago Pago International Airport. The flight was making an ILS approach at night. Of the 101 persons aboard the aircraft, only 5 survived the accident. One survivor died of injuries 9 days after the accident. The aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the flightcrew's late recognition and failure to correct in a timely manner an excessive descent rate which developed as a result of the aircraft's penetration through destabilizing wind changes. The winds consisted of horizontal and vertical components produced by a heavy rainstorm and influenced by uneven terrain close to the aircraft's approach path. The captain's recognition was hampered by restricted visibility, the illusory effects of a "blackhole" approach, inadequate monitoring of flight instruments, and the failure of the crew to call out descent rate during the last 15 seconds of flight. |
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