The crash of the Boeing 707 in Tahiti

Boeing 707-321B with tail number N417PA (serial number 18959, serial number 470) and the name Clipper Winged Racer was launched by The Boeing Company in 1966 and made its first flight on February 25 . Its four turbojet engines were Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B models and developed 4 × 18 thousand pound thrust. May 21, the airliner was transferred to the American company Pan American World Airways ^{[2] [3]} .

• Commander (FAC) Robert E. Evarts - born June 18, 1914 (59 years old), married, qualified for flights on DC-4 , DC-6 , DC-7 , Lockheed Constellation , B-377 and B-707 . The total flight time is 25,275 hours, of which 8,384 hours are on B-707 ^[4] ;
• Co-pilot Lyle Havens ( born Lyle C. Havens ) - born April 12, 1914 (59 years old), married, was qualified for flying DC-4 , DC-7 , B-377 and B-707 . The total flight time is 21 575 hours, of which 9248 hours are on B-707 ^[4] ;
• Bortmekhanik Isaac Lambert ( born Isaac N. Lambert ) - was born on November 3, 1938 (34 years old), married, was qualified as a pilot and flight engineer. The total flight time is 9134 hours, of which 4760 hours on B-707 ^[5] ;
• Navigator Frederick W. Fischer - born January 7, 1941 (36 years old), single. The total flight time is 3961 hours, of which 3945 hours are on the B-707 ^[5] .

Six stewardesses worked in the cabin ^[6] .

The aircraft operated flight PA816 en route Auckland - Papeete - San Francisco - Los Angeles ^[2] . The first part of the flight went without deviations and the airliner made a normal landing at the Faaa airport (Papeete). Then, after landing, the crew noticed that the glass No. 3 of the cockpit lamp had cracked. According to the instructions with such damage, the pilots could continue the flight. However, the crew, just in case, contacted the center in New York and received confirmation of permission to fly with a clarification so as not to include heating of the damaged glass. After this decision, the commander took the initiative to perform additional refueling (cleaned with jet fuel A) and instead of 121 thousand pounds (54,884 kilograms), as the flight plan, 156,220 pounds were poured into the tanks, probably with a view to a lower flight height. A total of 69 passengers were on board ^[4] .

According to the plan, the departure time was 20:30, but correspondence by telegram with New York and additional refueling led to a delay of about 1 hour 30 minutes. Also, additional refueling increased the weight of the airliner to 316,150 pounds (144,310 kilograms), which corresponded to a take-off weight of 315,150 pounds (144,853 kilograms), taking into account that the operation of the engines before taking off burns about 1,000 pounds of fuel. due to a load distribution of 1000 pounds, which is the consumption of engines when they work before takeoff. This weight was less than the maximum allowable (331,000 pounds), and the alignment was 20.2% of the MAR, that is, within the permissible. At this time, the sky was covered by separate layered clouds 2400 meters high and cumulonimbus clouds 300-500 meters high, it was raining, a southwest fresh wind was blowing, visibility was 8 kilometers, atmospheric pressure 1013 mb, air temperature 26 ° C. According to the plan, take-off was to be carried out with runway 08 with a length of 3414 meters. Under the given weather conditions and the weight of the aircraft, the speeds V 1 , V R and V 2 were 143, 149 and 165 knots (265, 276 and 306 km / h), respectively ^[4] .

At 21:52:40, the crew contacted the airport control tower and, due to the fact that the wind died down, asked for permission to take off from Runway 04. At 21:56:10 after starting the engines, he requested permission to follow taxiways to Runway 04 and got it. At 21:57:30 the crew requested that they be given a cruising altitude of 23 thousand feet ( level 230 or 7 kilometers), instead of the planned 33 thousand feet (level 330 or 10 kilometers), which received permission at 21:58:45. At 21:59, flight 816 was given permission to take a preliminary start at the beginning of the runway, and at 22:00:30 - the executive at the beginning of the runway 04. At 22:04 the crew reported that they were ready to take off and received permission. The crew has not reported on the take-off ^[4] .

According to eyewitnesses, the plane took off slightly lower than other aircraft of this type, but the sound of the engines was normal ^[7] . Then the Boeing at an altitude of about 300 feet began to perform a left turn, but then he suddenly began to quickly lose altitude, and after a few seconds there were bright red-orange flashes above the water surface. At 22:06:45, that is, 2 minutes 45 seconds after issuing permission to flight 816 for take-off permission, the dispatcher heard a strong crack on the radio, after which he looked at the sea and saw flashes above the water. He immediately sounded the alarm and the naval guard boats, as well as private boats, headed towards the crash site of the airliner, which fell about 700 meters from the shore. Arriving at 22:13 in place, they caught ten bodies and one seriously injured passenger Neil James Campbell , who survived ^[8] . As this passenger later told investigators, he realized that the plane was crashing, so he took the pose necessary for an emergency. In total, 78 people died in the crash: 10 crew members and 68 passengers ^[4] . In 2013, this is the largest plane crash in the history of French Polynesia ^[2] .

The investigation was complicated by the fact that flight recorders were not found. As a result, the investigators had only to examine the debris found, as well as interview witnesses ^[5] . A study of the wreckage showed that there was no fire on board before the impact on the water, no fire was observed on the tires, and there were no signs of carbon monoxide in the lungs of the deceased. Given that both pilots were 59 years old, a version was put forward that they were affected by fatigue, and they had hypertension . But a study of the crew’s work schedule showed that they both had enough rest over the past two days. The main clue was the sounds heard by witnesses like “choo-choo” or “woof-woof”, which rang out about 30 and 10 seconds before the impact on the water. The same sounds were heard by the surviving passenger, who immediately took an emergency position. However, it turned out to be impossible to establish exactly the nature of these sounds, and besides, there is no exact data that these sounds were heard from an airplane. Among those considered especially, there were versions of wind shear , failure of two engines at once (failure of one, as tests showed, could not lead to disaster), loss of control, failure of horizon levels, destruction of cracked glass, and so on, but none of them succeeded neither affirm nor deny ^{[7] [9]}

In the final report, the commission indicated that for lack of data from the flight recorders, the exact cause of the disaster cannot be established ^{[9] [10]} .

• List of the only civilian airline and air force survivors of passenger aircraft
• Accident Il-18 near Adler - a year before the accident, for an unknown reason, fell into the sea immediately after take-off

• Rapport final de la Commission d'enquête sur l'accident du Boeing 707 N 417 PA de la Compagnie Pan American World Airways, à Tahiti, le 22 juillet 1973 (fr.) . Civil Aviation Safety Investigation and Analysis Bureau (12 mars 1977). Date of treatment June 18, 2013. Archived June 27, 2011.