Moment research team gets first look at Pan Am plane wreckage after 74 years
A research team captured the first images of the wreckage of a Pan American Airways plane 74 years after it plunged into the Atlantic Ocean. The Clipper Endeavor, which went down on 11 April 1952 following multiple-engine failure shortly after take-off, was found 2,000ft (610m) below sea level off the coast of Puerto Rico.
Everyone onboard the flight survived the impact - but passengers struggled to locate life vests and rafts as the plane rapidly sank. Of the 69 passengers and crew onboard, just 17 survived.
The disaster led to sweeping reforms in aviation safety, including compulsory pre-flight safety briefings on every commercial flight.
The wreckage was found with a sonar-equipped drone. The discovery was a joint effort between Air/Sea Heritage, Deep Sea Vision (an Eco Minerals Company), and Discovery's Expedition Unknown.
Read more about the Pan American Airways plane crash here.
