Pan Am Flight 845
Evacuation of the aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | July 30, 1971 |
| Summary | Struck structures past runway on takeoff due to pilot error |
| Site |
|
| Aircraft | |
| N747PA, the aircraft involved in the accident, pictured in 1976 in a newer livery | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-121 |
| Aircraft name | Clipper America |
| Operator | Pan American World Airways |
| IATA flight No. | PA845 |
| ICAO flight No. | PAA845 |
| Call sign | CLIPPER 845 |
| Registration | N747PA |
| Flight origin | Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Stopover | San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California, United States |
| Destination | Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan |
| Occupants | 218 |
| Passengers | 199 |
| Crew | 19 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 29 |
| Survivors | 218 |
Pan Am Flight 845 was a scheduled international passenger flight between Los Angeles and Tokyo, with an intermediate stop at San Francisco. The flight was operated by a Boeing 747 registered N747PA and named Clipper America.
On July 30, 1971, at 15:29 PDT, while it was taking off from San Francisco International Airport bound for Tokyo, the aircraft struck approach lighting system structures located past the end of the runway; this initial mishap seriously injured two passengers and caused significant physical damage to both the runway structures and the aircraft.
The crew continued the takeoff, flew out over the ocean, circled while dumping fuel, and returned to SFO. After coming to a stop, the crew ordered an emergency evacuation, during which 27 passengers were injured exiting the aircraft, eight of whom suffered serious back injuries. The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which determined the probable cause was the pilot's use of incorrect takeoff reference speeds. The NTSB also found various procedural failures in the dissemination and retrieval of flight safety information, which had contributed to the accident.