View source for Pan Am Flight 7

{{Short description|1957 plane crash in the Pacific Ocean}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
|name=Pan Am Flight 7
|occurrence_type = Accident
|image = Chicago Midway Airport - Pan American World Airways - Boeing Stratocruiser N90944.jpg
|caption = N90944, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 1952
|date = {{start date|1957|11|8}}
|type = Crash, cause undetermined
|site = [[Pacific Ocean]]
|aircraft_type = [[Boeing 377|Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-29]]
|aircraft_name = ''Clipper Romance of the Skies''
|operator = [[Pan American World Airways]]
|callsign = CLIPPER 7
|tail_number = N90944
|origin = [[San Francisco International Airport]]
|destination = [[Daniel K. Inouye International Airport|Honolulu International Airport]]
|occupants = 44
|fatalities = 44
|injuries=
|passengers = 36
|crew = 8
|survivors = 0
|coordinates = {{Coord|29|26|N|143|34|W|type:event|display=inline,title}}<ref name=cab/>{{rp|page=5}}
}}
{{OSM Location map
| coord = {{Coord|31|00|00|N|140|00|00|W}}
| zoom = 3
| float = right
| width = 255
| height = 230
| caption = Map showing the flight's origin, planned destination, and approximate crash site
| title =
| scalemark = 60
| shape1 = image
| mark1 = Red pog.svg
| mark-size1 = 10
| label1 = Crash site
| mark-coord1 = {{Coord|29|26|00|N|143|34|00|W}}
| label-pos1 = right
| label-size1 = 14
| label-color1 = red
| mark-title1= Crash site
| mark-description1=
| mark2 = MUTCD I-5.svg
| mark-size2 = 10
| label2 = San Francisco
| mark-coord2 = {{Coord|37|37|08|N|122|22|30|W}}
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| label-size2 = 14
| label-color2 = green
| mark-title2= San Francisco
| mark-description2=
| mark3 = MUTCD I-5.svg
| mark-size3 = 10
| label3 = Honolulu
| mark-coord3 = {{Coord|21|19|07|N|157|55|21|W}}
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| mark-title3= Honolulu
| mark-description3=
}}
'''Pan Am Flight 7''' was a westbound [[round-the-world ticket|round-the-world flight]] operated by [[Pan American World Airways]]. On November 8, 1957, the [[Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-29]] serving the flight, named ''Clipper Romance of the Skies'', crashed in the [[Pacific Ocean]] en route to [[Daniel K. Inouye International Airport|Honolulu International Airport]] from [[San Francisco International Airport|San Francisco]]. The crash killed all 36 passengers and eight crew members.

The flight's fate was not known until about nine hours after its last known radio transmission, by which point the plane would have run out of fuel. No radio reports of any emergencies were received from the flight crew. Under the assumption that the plane could have survived a [[water landing|controlled landing on the ocean surface]], the [[United States Coast Guard]] launched an extensive search for the plane and any survivors. The week-long hunt became the largest [[search and rescue]] operation in the Pacific Ocean up to that date. The bodies of 19 of the victims and pieces of the plane were eventually recovered about {{convert|900|nmi|mi km}} northeast of [[Honolulu]].

Investigations into the cause of the crash were inconclusive. Despite theories that the plane may have been the victim of sabotage, poor maintenance, or in-flight fire, investigators could not find enough evidence to support any definite conclusion. The final report from the [[Civil Aeronautics Board]] (CAB), which conducted the investigation, concluded that the board did not have enough evidence to determine the cause of the accident.

== Background ==
In 1947, [[Pan American World Airways]] (Pan Am) offered the first regularly scheduled [[round-the-world ticket|round-the-world flights]], westbound from the west coast of the United States, or eastbound from the east coast.<!--<ref name="sfexaminer0626" />--> The flights stopped in multiple cities over the course of several days before ending the trip on the opposite coast.<ref name="sfexaminer0626" /> Passengers on these flights had the option to include extended stopovers in any of the cities along the way until a later flight departed the city.<ref name="npr0617" /> In November 1957, Flight&nbsp;7 was the flight number assigned to one of the company's westbound round-the-world flights, which departed [[San Francisco International Airport]] on Friday morning and included 15 intermediate stops{{Efn|Flight 7 left [[San Francisco International Airport|San Francisco]], and stopped at (in chronological order) [[Daniel K. Inouye International Airport|Honolulu]], [[Wake Island Airfield|Wake Island]], [[Haneda Airport|Tokyo]], [[Kai Tak Airport|Hong Kong]], [[Don Mueang International Airport|Bangkok]], [[Yangon International Airport|Rangoon]], [[Jinnah International Airport|Karachi]], [[Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport|Beirut]], [[Istanbul Atatürk Airport|Istanbul]], [[Frankfurt Airport|Frankfurt]], [[Melsbroek Air Base|Brussels]], [[Heathrow Airport|London]], [[Glasgow Prestwick Airport|Glasgow]], [[Logan International Airport|Boston]], and [[John F. Kennedy International Airport|New York City]], before finally arriving at [[Philadelphia International Airport|Philadelphia]].<ref name="panam1" />}} before eventually arriving at [[Philadelphia International Airport]] on the following Wednesday.<ref name="panam1" />

==Flight==
At 11:30{{nbsp}}a.m. on November 8, 1957, Flight&nbsp;7 left San Francisco on the first leg of the trip, to [[Daniel K. Inouye International Airport|Honolulu International Airport]].<!--<ref name="oaktrib1109a"/>--> Flight 7 carried 36 passengers and 8 crew members, and was expected to take ten hours and fifteen minutes.<!--<ref name="oaktrib1109a"/>--> The plane was one of Pan Am's long-range double-decker [[Boeing 377 Stratocruiser]]s, named ''Clipper Romance of the Skies''.<ref name="oaktrib1109a" /> It had enough fuel for approximately thirteen hours of flight, and was loaded to its maximum takeoff weight of {{convert|147000|lb|kg}}.<ref name="cab" />{{rp|page=1}} The [[Flight planning|flight plan]] called for a cruising altitude of {{convert|10000|ft|m}} and an airspeed of {{convert|226|knot|mph kph|-1}}.<ref name="cab" />{{rp|page=15}}

At 5:04{{nbsp}}p.m., the captain made a routine position report while the flight was {{convert|1028|nmi|mi km|-1}} east of Hawaii.<ref name="sfexaminer1110a"/> He said the plane was cruising at an altitude of {{convert|10000|ft|m}} and was encountering headwinds of approximately {{convert|14|mph|knot kph}}.<ref name="oaktrib1109a"/> He was due to make his next position report at around 6:00{{nbsp}}p.m., but there were no further communications.<ref name="oaktrib1110"/> At 6:42{{nbsp}}p.m., Pan Am notified the [[United States Coast Guard]] that it had not heard from the plane in more than 90 minutes, which was considered unusual, but not necessarily alarming.<ref name="sfexaminer1110a"/> After another 90 minutes had passed without word from the flight, the Coast Guard dispatched the first search planes.<ref name="oaktrib1110"/>

==Search==
Four surface vessels, submarines {{USS|Cusk|SS-348|6}} and {{USS|Carbonero|SS-337|6}}, and a number of aircraft from [[Honolulu]] conducted the search on the first day.<ref name="oaktrib1109a"/> Military authorities were asked to prepare additional planes and ships to join the search at dawn.<ref name="sfexaminer1109"/> The searchers were unable to locate the missing flight; authorities held on to the hope that the flight's radio was malfunctioning.<ref name="sfexaminer1110a"/> To address the possibility that Flight&nbsp;7's navigation equipment had failed, the Coast Guard ordered all ships at [[Pearl Harbor]] to shine their lights into the sky so they could be seen by the flight and used as beacons.<ref name="oaktrib1109a"/> A military air transport plane reported spotting lights on the water, which caused a burst of activity, but it was later determined to be only the lights of a ship.<ref name="oaktrib1110"/> At 3:00{{nbsp}}a.m. on November 9, when all of the fuel aboard the plane would have been consumed, Robert Murray, Pan Am's executive vice president of the Pacific Alaska Division, declared that the plane was presumed to be "down" somewhere over the [[Pacific Ocean]].<ref name="sfexaminer1110k"/>

By the next day, the search party had been expanded to at least 30 aircraft and 14 surface vessels.<!--<ref name="sfexaminer1110a"/>--> [[USS Philippine Sea (CV-47)|USS ''Philippine Sea'']] joined the search from [[Long Beach Naval Shipyard|Long Beach, California]], with its helicopters and radar-equipped anti-submarine planes.<ref name="sfexaminer1110a"/> A few hours later, [[USS John R. Craig|USS ''John R. Craig'']] and [[USS Orleck|USS ''Orleck'']] left [[San Diego]] to join the search.<ref name="sfexaminer1110f"/> The Coast Guard enlarged the search area to {{convert|150000|sqmi|sqkm}} of the Pacific Ocean east of Hawaii.<ref name="oaktrib1110"/> Pan Am dispatched a sister Stratocruiser from San Francisco, loaded with supplies that it could drop to the ocean surface if needed, and sent a [[Douglas DC-7]] to the search area with enough fuel to stay airborne for 16 hours.<ref name="oaktrib1109a"/> The week-long search for the missing plane eventually became the largest search in the Pacific Ocean to that date.<ref name="sfexaminer0116"/> Pan Am officials expressed confidence that the craft could stay afloat "almost indefinitely" if it had been forced to land in the ocean and its fuselage had not been punctured.<ref name="oaktrib1109a"/>

During the search, three pilots reported that they had heard faint radio distress signals from a hand-operated emergency radio similar to the type that would have been taken aboard life rafts.<ref name="sfexaminer1111"/> The signals were heard on the [[500 kHz|500 kilohertz]] [[International distress frequency|distress frequency]] at the Coast Guard station at [[ʻUpolu Point]] on the [[Hawaii (island)|island of Hawaii]].<ref name="sfexaminer1111"/><ref name="oaktrib1112"/> There were ten such broadcasts, over a period of 45 minutes.<ref name="oaktrib1112"/> One pilot reported hearing a series of numbers after the distress signals that he thought ended in the numbers "four four", the last two numbers of the missing aircraft's tail number, N90944.<ref name="sfexaminer1111"/> The Coast Guard concluded that the signal was a false alarm and might have come from the mainland or from an unknown party testing their equipment.<ref name="oaktrib1111a"/> Pan Am pilots who were personal friends of the lost crew listened to recordings of the radio transmissions and said it was unlikely that the messages had originated from the missing flight.<ref name="airspace17"/> A Pan Am pilot en route between San Francisco and Honolulu also reported seeing a yellow, cylindrical object about {{convert|2|by|4|ft|cm|-1}}, with a [[distress signal#Maritime|dye marker]] nearby.<ref name="sfexaminer1114"/> Three submarines, eight Coast Guard vessels, and five [[merchant ship]]s converged on the area, but found nothing.<ref name="sfexaminer1111"/>

On November 14, the crew of a Navy search plane observed wreckage and bodies in the water, about {{convert|900|nmi|mi km}} northeast of Honolulu, and about {{convert|90|nmi|mi km}} north of the flight's intended track.<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=2}}<ref name="oaktrib1114"/>--> One of the victims was still strapped in a seat.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=2}}<ref name="oaktrib1114"/> A total of 19 victims were pulled from the water; 14 of them were wearing life jackets, and none of them had shoes on, suggesting that the passengers had received some advance warning before the crash.<ref name="sfexaminer0116"/> Three of the victims had watches that had stopped at 5:27, 23 minutes after the plane's last radio report.<!--<ref name="oaktrib1115"/>--> The Navy reported that all of the victims had external injuries and multiple fractures, and concluded that the plane had probably struck the water with tremendous force.<ref name="oaktrib1115"/> The bodies and debris were recovered from a {{convert|33|sqmi|sqkm|adj=mid}} area of the ocean.<ref name="sfexaminer1115"/> [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] T. A. Ahroon, commander of ''Philippine Sea'', reported that there was no evidence that a midair explosion had occurred, but the Navy also found that many of the pieces of debris bore distinct evidence of fire damage.<ref name="oaktrib1116"/> Searchers were unable to recover any of the major components of the airliner; the depth of the ocean in that area was around {{convert|16500|ft|m}}, which meant that any wreckage on the bottom would be too deep to locate or recover.<ref name="oaktrib1116"/><ref name="sfexaminer1116"/>

==Aircraft==
[[File:561016PanAmDitches-3.jpg|thumb|right|[[Pan Am Flight 6]], whose aircraft was named the ''Sovereign of the Skies'', ditching in the Pacific Ocean on October 16, 1956|alt=Image of a Boeing Stratocruiser aircraft performing an emergency landing in the ocean]]
The missing aircraft was a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10–29 with serial number 15960 and registered with tail number N90944.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=15}} It first flew on August 30, 1949, as ''Flagship Ireland'' for [[American Overseas Airlines]] (AOA), and was transferred to Pan Am on September 28, 1950, after Pan Am's acquisition of AOA.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=7}}<ref name="dean"/>{{rp|page=146}}

At the time of the accident, the airframe had accumulated a total of 23,690 logged flying hours.<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=15}}--> The four engines of the aircraft had total times ranging from 13,459 hours to 16,961 hours, and had been overhauled within the last 1,249 hours of flight.<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=15}}--> Investigations by the [[Civil Aeronautics Board]] (CAB) found that "the aircraft, engines, and propellers had been maintained as prescribed and were within their time limitations."<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=15}}

The accident was the second worst accident involving the Stratocruiser.<ref name="asn"/> The aircraft type had a long history of mechanical problems.<!--<ref name="airspace17"/>--> Several of the aircraft had experienced runaway propellers, a situation where the pilots were unable to control the pitch of the propellers. In those situations, [[centrifugal force]] caused the blades to adjust to the lowest pitch, leading to aerodynamic instability.<!--<ref name="airspace17"/>--> In 1952, [[Pan Am Flight 202]] crashed in the [[Amazon basin]] after its engine and propeller failed in flight.<ref name="airspace17"/> In 1955, [[Pan Am Flight 845/26]] ditched in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of [[Oregon]] with four fatalities after one of the aircraft's propellers failed and caused the engine to separate from the wing.<ref name="asnN1032V"/>

The aircraft assigned to Flight 7 had experienced two incidents shortly before its final flight. On June 18, 1957, it had suffered a runaway propeller as it departed San Francisco.<!--<ref name="dean"/>{{rp|page=146}}--> The crew was unable to resolve the situation in the air, turned around, and performed an emergency landing back at the airport.<ref name="dean"/>{{rp|page=146}} On September 19, 1957, during a flight between San Francisco and Honolulu, the crew heard a loud noise that they described as "similar to dropping the navigation stool on the flight deck".<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=7}}--> In-flight inspections were performed and the plane landed without incident after the crew found no abnormalities.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=7}} A Pan Am inspector later investigated and found nothing out of the ordinary, arguing in his report that similar noises could be produced during normal activities.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=8}}

The aircraft that had been built immediately before the plane assigned to Flight&nbsp;7 had also crashed the year before.<!--<ref name="sfexaminer1110e"/>--> Named the ''Sovereign of the Skies'', with serial number 15959, it was assigned to [[Pan Am Flight 6]].<!--<ref name="sfexaminer1110e"/>--> The plane encountered mechanical problems and had ditched in the Pacific Ocean on October 16, 1956, after two of its engines had failed.<ref name="sfexaminer1110e"/> All 31 people aboard on Flight 6 had been rescued, but the tail broke off on impact and the plane sank only 22 minutes after the forced landing, preventing a detailed investigation into the cause of the engine failures.<ref name="oaktrib1109a"/><ref name="sfexaminer1110e"/>

==Passengers and crew==
The flight carried 36 passengers and 8 crew members on the flight to Honolulu.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=1}} Upon arrival, 20 of the passengers were scheduled to disembark, while 16 would have continued onward at least as far as [[Tokyo]].<ref name="oaktrib1109a"/> Thirty-two of the passengers were from the United States, while one each was from Australia, Japan, Turkey, and  Indonesia.<ref name="oaktrib1109e"/><ref name="sfexaminer1110b"/> At Honolulu, 17 passengers were waiting to board the plane for the next segment of the flight.<ref name="oaktrib1109a"/>

The [[Pilot in command|captain]] of the flight was Gordon H. Brown, age 40, who had been flying for Pan Am since his 1942 graduation from [[Northeastern University]].<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=14}}<ref name="sfexaminer1110d"/> At the time of Flight&nbsp;7, he had accumulated 11,314 hours of flight experience, including 674 hours in the Stratocruiser.<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=14}}--> The [[First officer (aviation)|first officer]] of the flight, William P. Wygant, was 37 and had been employed with the company since 1946.<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=14}}--> He had a total of 7,355 flying hours, including 4,018 on the Stratocruiser.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=14}} [[Second officer (aviation)|Second officer]] William H. Fortenberry, acting as pilot-[[Navigator#In aviation|navigator]] on the flight, had worked for Pan Am since graduating from [[Spartanburg Community College]] in 1951.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=14}}<ref name="sfexaminer1110d"/> He had a total of 2,683 flight hours, including 1,552 in the Stratocruiser.<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=14}}--> [[Flight engineer]] Albert F. Pinataro, 26 years old, had been employed with the company since 1955, and had a total of 1,596 hours of flight experience, all in the Stratocruiser.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=14}}

==Civil Aeronautics Board investigation==
Investigators from the CAB initiated an investigation as soon as Flight&nbsp;7's fuel supplies were presumed to be exhausted, and began combing through maintenance and operations records of the plane and its equipment.<ref name="oaktrib1113"/> When the wreckage had been located and had been recovered to ''Philippine Sea'', which was still en route to Long Beach, CAB investigators and pathologists of the [[Armed Forces Institute of Pathology]] were flown to the carrier to begin their investigation.<ref name="sfexaminer1117"/> By the time it returned to port on November 18, four of the victims had been identified.<!--<ref name="sfexaminer1119"/>--> Another six had been tentatively identified from their fingerprints and papers recovered from the bodies.<!--<ref name="sfexaminer1119"/>--> None of the victims showed any evidence of being burned.<ref name="sfexaminer1119"/>

CAB investigators moved all of the recovered pieces of wreckage to a restricted area at the Pan Am overhaul station in San Francisco.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=2}}<ref name="sfexaminer1120"/> The {{convert|500|lb|kg}} of recovered material mainly consisted of the [[fuselage]]'s secondary structure, interior trim and equipment, and numerous packages of mail.<ref name="sfexaminer1120"/> The only non-fuselage part recovered was a section of an [[Cowling|engine cowl]] support ring, which had been found embedded in a pillow that was found floating on the water.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=2}} Representatives from Pan Am, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], and [[Boeing]] were invited to assist with the investigation.<ref name="sfexaminer1120"/> Some of the material bore evidence of fire damage. CAB investigators determined that the burns had occurred on the portions that had floated on the surface of the water, as each piece had a definite waterline below which burn marks were not found.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=2}} Investigators found no evidence of an in-flight fire, and laboratory tests of the charred pieces did not find any traces of prohibited or explosive material.<ref name="sfexaminer0918"/>

In their investigation, CAB investigators considered the hazardous materials that were known to be in the plane's cargo hold.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=3}} The forward cargo compartment contained a shipment of {{convert|1+1/4|lb|g|spell=in}} of [[sodium sulfide]], which is a chemically reactive flammable solid material that would release [[hydrogen sulfide]] gas if exposed to moisture.<ref name="sfexaminer0116"/> Investigators concluded that the material was securely packaged in sealed glass containers within a wooden crate. The gas, which has a strong, foul odor, would have been detectable by the crew well before its concentration would have become dangerous.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=3}} All tests for its presence on the recovered debris were negative.<ref name="sfexaminer0116"/> The cargo also contained several shipments of [[cellulose acetate film]] and a package containing a small amount of radioactive medicine packaged according to regulations.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=3}}<ref name="sfexaminer0116"/> Although none of the cargo was recovered, investigators concluded that there was no reason to believe that any of the items had contributed to the accident.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=3}}

CAB investigators also probed the maintenance history of the aircraft. Earlier in the year of the accident, the plane had been involved in two separate "hard" landings that were reported by crews.<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=8}}--> In the first incident, certificated mechanics performed a visual inspection of the aircraft.<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=8}}--> However, the maintenance records showed that one of the most time-consuming steps of the inspection, the inspection of the wing spar webs, had been skipped.<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=8}}--> In the second incident, the inspecting mechanics did not make a written report of the inspection.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=8}} The CAB concluded that the somewhat cursory investigations performed by airline mechanics in these and other cases suggested that "the maintenance and airworthiness of the aircraft cannot be accepted as being normal in all respects," and recommended a reassessment of the airline's maintenance practices in the future.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=12}}

[[Autopsy|Pathological examination]] of the victims revealed "possibly disabling" levels of [[carbon monoxide]] in 14 of the 19 recovered bodies.<ref name="sfexaminer1115"/><ref name="sfexaminer0112"/> CAB investigators conducted a study to determine how high concentrations of the gas could have occurred in the fuselage, and identified several possible causes.<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=6}}--> Pathologists were uncertain whether the presence of the gas in the bodies could have been a result of decomposition that had occurred after the crash.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=6}} Investigators concluded that one probable source of the gas was an unexpected failure in one of the engines, such as one that released a propeller or [[turbocharger]] disk into the fuselage.<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=11}}--> Such a failure could have easily caused a fire, disabled the radios, and caused serious flight control difficulties.<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=11}}--> Investigators concluded that the scenario fit the known circumstances better than any of the other hypotheses.<!--<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=11}}--> One scenario considered was the malicious introduction of pure carbon monoxide into the flight cabin; the gas would have been undetectable and could have incapacitated the crew, resulting in the crash.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=11}} Another possibility was that the acetate film in the cargo hold could have released carbon monoxide if it had been subjected to extreme heat.<!--<ref name="sfexaminer0116"/>--> Investigators determined that five of the victims died from physical injuries received when the aircraft crashed, and most of the others died from drowning, possibly after being knocked unconscious or stunned by the crash.<ref name="sfexaminer0116"/>

Contrary to initial assumptions, CAB investigators concluded that the aircraft did not strike the water at a steep angle, but that it was almost a successful ocean landing that led to a crash only when the starboard wing dragged in the water.<ref name="sfexaminer0112"/>

Ultimately, the investigators could not determine the cause of the crash with any certainty,<ref name="airspace17"/> stating in their final report:

{{blockquote|The Board has insufficient tangible evidence at this time to determine the cause of the accident. Further research and investigation is in process concerning the significance of evidence of carbon monoxide in body tissue of the aircraft occupants.<ref name="cab"/>{{rp|page=13}}}}

==Insurance investigation==
Insurance officials also conducted an investigation to determine whether any of the passengers had purchased large insurance policies before boarding the flight.<ref name="oaktrib1110"/> In 1949, [[Albert Guay]] had planted a bomb aboard [[Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 108]] in a plot to kill his wife and collect the insurance money.<!--<ref name="oaktrib1112"/>--> In 1955, [[Jack Gilbert Graham]] had planted a bomb in his mother's suitcase aboard [[United Airlines Flight 629]] after purchasing a [[life insurance policy]] at the airport.<ref name="oaktrib1112"/> With those incidents in mind, investigators searched for any unusual insurance purchases by the passengers of Flight&nbsp;7. Mercury Insurance reported that it had carried a total of $230,000{{efn|{{inflation|US|230000|1957|fmt=eq|r=-5}}}} in insurance policies for the flight's passengers, and said that the amount was not unusual.<ref name="oaktrib1110"/> CAB investigators dismissed the possibility of insurance-motivated sabotage, reporting that "no untoward amount" of life insurance had been taken out on any of the occupants of the plane.<ref name="sfexaminer0112"/>

In 1958, a year after the crash, news reports revealed that the Western Life Insurance Company of [[Helena, Montana]], had refused to pay out a $20,000{{efn|{{inflation|US|20000|1958|fmt=eq|r=-4}}}} life insurance policy purchased shortly before the flight for one of the passengers.<ref name="sfexaminer0916"/> The passenger, a 41-year-old man from [[Scott Bar, California]], named William Payne, had also purchased two air trip policies at the airport totaling $125,000.{{efn|{{inflation|US|125000|1957|fmt=eq|r=-5}}}}<!--<ref name="sfexaminer0917"/>--> Payne's body was not one of the 19 recovered from the crash scene and the insurance company contended that there was no evidence that he was actually a passenger on the flight or that he had died.<!--<ref name="sfexaminer0917"/>--> At the time of the crash, Payne was heavily in debt; the company claimed that the reasons he gave for his trip to Honolulu did not justify the expense involved.<!--<ref name="sfexaminer0917"/>--> Payne was an honorably discharged Navy veteran with 22 years of service and was an explosives expert.<!--<ref name="sfexaminer0917"/>--> His widow, Harriet Payne, had also filed a $300,000{{efn|{{inflation|US|300000|1958|fmt=eq|r=-5}}}} damage suit against Pan Am earlier that year, and denied the claim that her husband was not aboard Flight&nbsp;7 when it went down.<ref name="sfexaminer0917"/> She filed a lawsuit against the insurance company to compel it to pay off the policy.<ref name="sfexaminer1022"/> CAB investigators said that laboratory examination of the plane's wreckage had ruled out the possibility of a bomb explosion of any kind aboard the aircraft.<ref name="sfexaminer0918"/> Pan Am investigators later admitted that they had investigated Payne because of his past explosives experience, the amount of insurance purchased, and the fact that he purchased a one-way ticket to Honolulu when he was heavily in debt.<ref name="sfexaminer1022"/> The judge in the Western Life Insurance Company lawsuit was critical of the company's efforts to avoid paying the insurance claim.<!--<ref name="sfexaminer1203"/>--> The court ordered the company to pay the full amount of the policy, and to refund the additional premiums Western Life Insurance forced the widow to continue paying after refusing to honor the claim.<ref name="sfexaminer1203"/>

==Legacy==
[[File:Pan Am Flight 7 Plaque.jpg|thumb|right|Pan Am Flight 7 memorial monument]]

A memorial to honor those lost on the flight was unveiled at the Millbrae History Museum in [[Millbrae, California]], on April 4, 2023.<ref>{{cite web |last=Veronico |first=Nicholas |date=April 12, 2023 |title=Passengers and crew of Stratocruiser Clipper Romance Of The Skies which crashed in 1957 have been remembered at a newly revealed memorial |url=https://www.key.aero/article/stratocruiser-memorial-unveiled-california |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604163727/https://www.key.aero/article/stratocruiser-memorial-unveiled-california |archive-date=June 4, 2023 |access-date=4 June 2023 |website=key.aero}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em|
refs=
<ref name="airspace17">{{cite web |url=https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/08_fm2017-lost-clipper-1-180961664/ |website=Air & Space/Smithsonian |date=January 2017 |access-date=7 June 2019 |last1=Herken |first1=Gregg |last2=Fortenberry |first2=Ken |title=What Happened to Pan Am Flight 7? |archive-date=7 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607173601/https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/08_fm2017-lost-clipper-1-180961664/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="asn">{{cite web |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19571108-0 |title=ASN Aircraft Accident Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-29 N90944 Honolulu, HI |publisher=Aviation Safety Network |access-date=7 June 2019 |archive-date=12 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212180959/http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19571108-0 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="asnN1032V">{{cite web |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19550326-0 |title=ASN Aircraft Accident Boeing 377 Stratocruiser 10-26 N1032V Oregon, USA |publisher=Aviation Safety Network |access-date=21 August 2019 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330210400/https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19550326-0 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="cab">{{cite web |url=https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/33585 |title=Aircraft Accident Report: Pan American World Airways, Inc., Boeing 377, N 90944, In the Pacific Ocean, Between Honolulu and San Francisco, November 9, 1957 |date=November 9, 1957 |publisher=Civil Aeronautics Board |access-date=7 June 2019 |archive-date=7 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607173624/https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/33585 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="dean">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I5hUDwAAQBAJ |title=Ultra-Large Aircraft, 1440–1970: The Development of Guppy and Expanded Fuselage Transports |last=Dean |first=William Patrick |publisher=McFarland & Company |year=2018 |isbn=9781476665030 |access-date=2019-08-30 |archive-date=November 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108033240/https://books.google.com/books?id=I5hUDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="npr0617">{{cite web |url=https://n.pr/Kaonk2 |title=Flying Round-The-World With Pan Am: A June 17th Anniversary |last=King |first=Barbara |website=NPR |date=17 June 2012 |access-date=20 June 2019 |archive-date=15 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215073540/https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2012/06/17/155177346/flying-round-the-world-with-pan-am-a-june-17th-anniversary?sc=tw&cc=share |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="oaktrib1109a">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/296422952 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |newspaper=The Oakland Tribune |location=Oakland, California |date=9 November 1957 |page=1 |title=Clue Proves False; Search Pushed for 44 on Airliner |access-date=14 June 2019 |archive-date=17 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190817010255/http://www.newspapers.com/image/296422952/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

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<ref name="panam1">{{cite web |url=https://merrick.library.miami.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/asm0341/id/24516/rec/433 |title=Pan American World Airways System Time Table, October 27 – November 30, 1957 |date=1957 |access-date=17 June 2019 |publisher=Pan American World Airways |website=University of Miami Libraries Digital Collections |archive-date=17 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617231910/https://merrick.library.miami.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/asm0341/id/24516/rec/433 |url-status=live}}</ref>

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<ref name="sfexaminer1110d">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/458267006 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |newspaper=The San Francisco Examiner |date=10 November 1957 |page=3 |title=Flyers' Families Clinging to Hope |access-date=7 June 2019 |archive-date=21 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621100600/http://www.newspapers.com/image/458267006/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="sfexaminer1110e">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/458267006 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |newspaper=The San Francisco Examiner |date=10 November 1957 |page=3 |title=Sister of Lost Plane Ditched |access-date=7 June 2019 |archive-date=21 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621100600/http://www.newspapers.com/image/458267006/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="sfexaminer1110f">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/458267006 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |newspaper=The San Francisco Examiner |date=10 November 1957 |page=3 |title=30 Planes Seek Lost Airliner |access-date=7 June 2019 |archive-date=21 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621100600/http://www.newspapers.com/image/458267006/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

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<ref name="sfexaminer1203">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/458720551 |url-access=subscription |via=Newspapers.com |newspaper=The San Francisco Examiner |date=3 December 1960 |page=3 |title=Air Crash Widow Wins Insurance Suit |access-date=19 October 2021 |archive-date=21 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021094328/http://www.newspapers.com/image/458720551/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

}}

{{Pan Am}}
{{B-29 family}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1957}}
{{Portal bar|Aviation|California}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pan Am Flight 0007}}
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 377]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1957]]
[[Category:Missing aircraft]]
[[Category:November 1957 in the United States]]
[[Category:Pan Am accidents and incidents|7]]