Wreckage of NYC-bound Pan Am plane finally found 74 years after crash that killed 52 and forever changed air industry

A search team has found the wreckage of a New York City-bound Pan Am flight more than 74 years after it crashed off Puerto Rico, killing 52 and prompting major changes in pre-flight safety procedures.The largely intact remains of the “Clipper Endeavor,” which went down after taking off from San Juan for the city Good Friday 1952, were finally discovered after a seven-year investigation led by the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, which partnered with the Discovery Channel, according to a press release.“Seeing the bright aluminum fuselage shining back at us from the ocean floor was a hugely emotional moment,” said “Expedition Unknown” show host Josh Gates to NBC’s “Today” show, which first broke news of the discovery.The recovery team used cutting-edge sonar technology to locate the Douglas DC-4 aircraft, which is roughly the size of a modern Boeing 737, about 2,000 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in June.It was found broken into two sections — with its Pam Am logo still clearly visible.The plane crash — which happened before flight-attendant safety briefings to passengers were standard — occurred because of a multiple engine failure just 10 minutes after takeoff with 64 passengers and five crew members aboard.Everyone miraculously survived the initial impact, but the plane soon began taking on water in the rough seas.

Floatation devices were available, and protocols for using them had been established, but 52 souls ended up perishing as the plane sank within 3 minutes.There were only 17 survivors despite heroic efforts from the US Coast Guard and Air Force.After the tragedy, pre-flight safety briefings to passengers, includning emergency procedure demonstrations, became mandatory, changing forever how travelers fly and saving potentially thousands of lives.“There was no demonstration of where the exits were, where the flotation devices are.And so in all of that chaos and all that panic, 52 people drowned in and around this plane,�...