View source for Samoan Clipper

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| name            = ''Samoan Clipper''
| occurrence_type = Accident
| image           = NC16734 Pan American Airways.jpg
| caption         = NC16734 (foreground), the aircraft involved, seen in [[Auckland]], [[New Zealand]] in 1937.
| date            = January 11, 1938
| summary         = In-flight explosion
| site            = [[Pago Pago, American Samoa]]
| coordinates     = {{coord|14|8|20|S|170|51|0|W|region:US-MT_type:event|display=inline,title}}
| aircraft_type   = [[Sikorsky S-42|Sikorsky S-42B]]
| aircraft_name   = {{nowrap|''Samoan Clipper''<br/>{{small|(formerly ''Pan American Clipper II'')}}}}
| operator        = [[Pan American World Airways|Pan Am]]
| tail_number     = NC16734
| origin          = [[Honolulu, Hawaii]]
| stopover0       = [[Kingman Reef]]
| stopover1       = [[Pago Pago, American Samoa]]
| destination     = [[Auckland]], New Zealand
| passengers      = 0
| crew            = 7
| fatalities      = 7
| survivors       = 0
}}

'''''Samoan Clipper''''' was one of ten [[Pan American World Airways|Pan American Airways]] [[Sikorsky S-42]] [[flying boat]]s. It exploded near [[Pago Pago, American Samoa]], on January 11, 1938, while piloted by aviator [[Edwin Musick]]. Musick and his crew of six died in the crash. The aircraft was carrying only airmail and express freight; no passengers were aboard.

The aircraft developed an oil leak shortly after taking off from Pago Pago harbor, and the crew decided to return to port. However, the S-42, fully loaded with fuel, was too heavy to land safely in the limited space of the harbor, so the crew elected to dump fuel before landing. While [[fuel dumping]] was in progress, there was a fire and explosion which destroyed the aircraft, killing all aboard.<ref>{{ASN accident|title=NC16734|id=19380111-0|accessdate=6 October 2013}}</ref> The exact cause of ignition for the fire could not be determined.<ref>[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bureau_of_Air_Commerce_Aircraft_Accident_Report,_Pan_American_Airways_Sikorsky_S-42B_Samoan_Clipper.pdf Aircraft accident report] from [[Bureau of Air Commerce]], 1 April 1938.</ref>

==Background==
On March 17, 1937, the Pan American Clipper departed San Francisco Bay to inaugurate a 7,000-mile South Pacific air route linking the United States and Australia. Later renamed the Samoan Clipper, it pioneered the [[San Francisco]]–[[Kingman Reef]]–[[Pago Pago, American Samoa|Pago Pago]]–[[Auckland]] corridor, arriving in Pago Pago Bay on March 24 during the first leg from Hawaiʻi to Auckland. The flying boat operated for nine months before exploding shortly after departing Pago Pago on January 11, 1938.<ref>Shaffer, Robert J. (2000). ''American Samoa: 100 Years Under the United States Flag''. Island Heritage. Page 167. {{ISBN|978-0-89610-339-9}}.</ref>

==Accident==
Shortly after departing Pago Pago on January 11, 1938, Captain [[Edwin Musick]] reported an oil leak and prepared to jettison fuel for a safe landing. His final transmission at 8:27 a.m. read, “We are going to dump gas and we can’t use the radio during the dumping. Stand by.” The fuel apparently flowed over the lowered flaps onto a hot exhaust manifold, igniting and causing the tanks to explode. The [[USS Avocet]] found no survivors - only an oil slick, uniform coats, and aluminum debris. The Samoan Clipper carried six crew, including Musick.<ref>Shaffer, Robert J. (2000). ''American Samoa: 100 Years Under the United States Flag''. Island Heritage. Page 167. {{ISBN|978-0-89610-339-9}}.</ref> The village of [[Fagasā, American Samoa|Fagasā]], being the closest to the crash site, responded by deploying its own [[fautasi]] to assist in search efforts.<ref>Sunia, Fofō Iosefa Fiti (2001). ''Puputoa: Host of Heroes - A record of the history makers in the First Century of American Samoa, 1900-2000''. Suva, Fiji: Oceania Printers. Page 102. ISBN 9829036022.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090630035742/http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/timeline&new_date=2/1 1938 flights to and from New Zealand]}} 
* [http://www.nzstamps.org.uk/air/panam/index.html Airmail items carried on outward trip]
* [http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1938/1938-3.htm Samoan Clipper] at http://planecrashinfo.com

{{Pan Am}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in the 1930s}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in territories of the United States}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1938}}

[[Category:Individual aircraft]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents involving in-flight explosions]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in American Samoa]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents in American Samoa]]
[[Category:Pan Am accidents and incidents]]
[[Category:1938 in American Samoa]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1938]]


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