1965 — Sep 17 Pan American 292 crash on approach, Chances Peak, Montserrat –14 US of 30

–30 Associated Press. “30 Aboard Downed Plane.” The News, Frederick, MD. 9-17-1965, p. 1.
–30 Associated Press. “State Girls Die in Crash.” Troy Record, NY. 9-18, 1965, p. 1.
–30 Aviation Safety Network. 17 Sep 1965, Pan AM Boeing 707, Chances Peak, Montserrat.
–30 Eckert. “Fatal commercial air transport crashes, 1924-1981.” AJFM&P, 3/1, Mar 1982, Table 1.
–30 Martin. “Montserrat Defense Force officer recalls Pan Am crash recovery mission in 1965.”
–15 American, “mostly residents of New York state”
— 3 Canadian
— 2 Dominican Republic
–10 Martinique
–30 UPI. “Downed Airliner Passenger List.” The Register, Santa Ana, CA. 9-17-1965, A11.
–14 US cities of residence shown.
–5 FL
–7 NY
–2 PA
Narrative Information

Aviation Safety Network:
“Date: Friday 17 September 1965
“Time: 07:24
“Type: Boeing 707-121B
“Operator: Pan American World Airways (Pan Am)
“Registration: N708PA
“MSN: 17586/1
“First flight: 1957-12-20 (7 years 9 months)
….
“Crew: Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 9
“Passengers: Fatalities: 21 / Occupants: 21
“Total: Fatalities: 30 / Occupants: 30
….
“Location: Chances Peak (Montserrat)
“Crash site elevation: 841 m (2759 feet)
“Phase: En route (ENR)
“Nature: International Scheduled Passenger
“Departure airport: Fort de France-Lamentin Airport, Martinique
“Destination airport: Antigua-Coolidge International Airport, Antigua and Barbuda
“Flight number: PA292
“Narrative:

“A Boeing 707-121B passenger plane, operated by Pan American World Airways, was destroyed when it flew into the side of Chances Peak, Montserrat. All 21 passengers and nine crew members were killed.

“Pan Am Flight PA-292 operated on a scheduled service from Fort de France, Martinique (FDF) to New York with en route stops at Antigua (ANU), St. Croix, Virgin Islands (STX), and San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU). An IFR flight plan had been filed for the 30-minute leg to Antigua. Cruising altitude would be FL165.

“The Boeing 707, named “Clipper Constitution”, took off from Fort de France’s runway 27 at 11:04 UTC. Cruising altitude was reached at 11:09. The crew established radio contact with the Antigua controller at 11:15. The controller cleared the flight to the Coolidge NDB beacon at 2500 feet and told the crew to report at the beacon outbound leaving 2500 feet or field in sight. At approximately 11:25 the flight reported through FL40 with the field not yet in sight. At the same time the airplane was observed flying along the coast of the island of Montserrat in rain and below the clouds with landing gear down and flaps partially extended. Shortly afterwards the airplane struck a mountain at an elevation of 2760 feet asl and 242 feet below the summit.

“Weather was poor with thunderstorms, towering cumulus, heavy rains.

“Probable Cause: “The accident was the result of the aircraft descending below a safe height when its position had not been accurately established.””
(Aviation Safety Network. 17 Sep 1965, Pan AM Boeing 707, Chances Peak, Montserrat.)

Martin: “….[A] report stated that a Pan Am aircraft had crashed into Chances Peak in southern Montserrat, not far from the Soufriere Hills volcano that would erupt 30 years later and change Montserrat forever.

“At about 7:24 a.m., Pan Am flight 292 – amid poor visibility and a fatal error in navigation – crashed into the side of the mountain, killing all 30 aboard (21 passengers, nine crew). Duberry and other Defense Force soldiers were tasked the following day with recovering remains. They trekked Chances Peak by way of Broderick’s Estate, just above Trials Village. Some soldiers had gone to the crash site on Friday, but the rainy weather and muddy terrain hampered the mission….

“The plane, a Boeing 707 that had been in operation since December of 1957, had embarked from Le Lamentin Airport in Martinique and was headed to Antigua’s Coolidge Airport (now V.C. Bird International). From there it was bound for Saint Croix, then Puerto Rico, and finally New York City.

“‘The plane seemed to hit the mountain maybe a couple hundred feet from the summit,’ Duberry says. ‘We found about four or five bodies and brought down the remains in body bags….

“A few days later, investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration arrived from the United States. Duberry and fellow soldiers had to escort them 3,002 feet back up the treacherous mountain. The climb was steep and rife with obstacles. ‘Sometimes we would have to go ahead of the investigators and then throw back ropes and pull them up,’ Duberry says. ‘The whole recovery was awful. It wasn’t for the faint-hearted. But we had a job to do and that’s what we did.’

“A forensics team was also brought in to identify the bodies. Of the 30 victims, 15 were American – mostly residents of New York state – 10 were from Martinique, three were Canadian, and two from the Dominican Republic. Most of the remains were buried in the Plymouth Public Cemetery, with a large headstone featuring the names of the victims…..

Newspapers

Sep 17, UPI: “New York (UPI) – Pan American World Airways in New York today identified the following passengers aboard its ill-fated Flight 191:

“Bound for New York:
1. Janice Christmas, Rochester, N.Y. (or Miss Janice Christman, 21, St. Johnsville, NY.)
2. Carol Roadhouse, roommate of Janice Christmas.
3. Robert Elizabeth, Fort de France, Martinique.
4. Janet Elizabeth, Fort de France, Martinique.
5. Jean Claude Emmanuel, Fort de France, Martinique.
6. Marie Theresa Founier, St. Therese de Blainville, Quebec.
7. Fernand La Montagne, booked at Montreal.
8. Mrs. F. Lamontagen, booked at Montreal, Canada.
9. Francisca Legendre, a Haitian en route to New York City for employment.
10. Lilliane Legendre, child of Francisca.
11. Chantal Legendre, child of Francisca.
12. Dr. Phillippe LeClerc, Fort de France, Martinique.
13. Dr. Lilliane LeClerc, Fort de France, Martinique, bound for St. Croix, Virgin Islands.
14. C. J. Waller, Vettramise, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb.
15. Mrs. C. J. Waller Vettramise, Pa, bound for San Juan, P.R.
16. Thomas Calvin, Fort de France, Martinique.
17. Angelo Elmundest, Fort de France, Martinique.
18. Hortense Elmundesi, Fort de France, Martinique.
19. Maurice Pailles, Fort de France, Martinique.
20. Benevieve Pailles, Fort de France, Martinique.
21. E. J. Shockeley, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

The Crew:

22. Pilot – Capt. Hugh Henderson, 43, Miami.
23. First Officer – John A. McNichol, 43, Miami.
24. Navigator – Hugh B. Miller, 32, of Miami.
25. Engineer – Norman A. Carlson, Miami.
26. Purser – James Tarre, 34, Long Island City, N.Y.
27. Purser – John Walsh, 38, New York City.
28. Stewardess – Tove Johansen, 22, Kew Gardens, N.Y.
29. Stewardess – Reidun Mykland, 23, New York City.
30. Stewardess – Janet R. Green, 23, Forest Hills. N.Y.

(United Press International. “Downed Airliner Passenger List.” The Register, Santa Ana, CA. 9-17-1965, A11.)

Sep 18: “Plymouth, Montserrat (AP) – A Pan American Airways jetliner, groping through a morning thunderstorm, crashed into a mist-shrouded peak and exploded yesterday on this Caribbean sugar island. All 30 persons aboard were killed.

“The four-engine Boeing 707 was attempting an instrument landing on the neighboring British island of Antigua, 36 miles away, when it slammed into the top of 3,003-foot Chance’s Mountain.

“The plane was bound for New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport from Fort de France, Martinique, with stops at Antigua, St. Croix, and San Juan. A Pan American spokesman said he was unable to explain why the plane was over Montserrat, which is southwest of the normal approach to Antiqua from Martinique.

“The plane carried 21 passengers and a crew of nine.

“Rescuers who struggled through dense woods to reach the crash found only four or five bodies intact still strapped to their seats. The wreckage of the plane was scattered over a wide area, indicating all perished at the moment of impact.

“The aircraft crashed sic miles from Plymouth, capital of this 20-mile-long island.

“Last contact with the plane took place when the copilot, John McNichol, radioed that he would land at Antigua in five minutes. The pilot was Capt. Hugh Henderson, 43, of Miami.

“Some islanders saw the plane, with its wheels down, just before it crashed. ‘We don’t normally get these big jets over Montserrat and people looked up in surprise,’ said Dennis Gibbs, the island’s administrator.” (Associated Press. “State Girls Die in Crash.” Troy Record, NY. 9-18, 1965, p. 1.

Sources

Associated Press. “30 Aboard Downed Plane.” The News, Frederick, MD. 9-17-1965, p. 1. Accessed 6-2-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/news-sep-17-1965-p-1/

Associated Press. “State Girls Die in Crash.” Troy Record, NY. 9-18, 1965, p. 1. Accessed 6-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/troy-record-sep-18-1965-p-1/

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. 17 Sep 1965, Pan AM Boeing 707, Chances Peak, Montserrat. Accessed 6-3-2022 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19650917-0

Boylton, Whitney. “News of airliner crash impersonal to most, sudden tragedy to a few.” Chronicle-Telegram, Elyria, OH, 9-22-1965, p. 23. Accessed 6-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/elyria-chronicle-telegram-sep-22-1965-p-23/

Eckert, William G. “Fatal commercial air transport crashes, 1924-1981.” American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, Vol. 3, No. 1, March 1982, Table 1.

International Civil Aviation Organization. ICAO Circular 88-AN/74, No. 2. “Pan American World Airways Inc., Boeing 7070121B, N 798PA, accident on Chance Mountain, Montserrat, West Indies, on 17 September 1965. Civil Accident Report No. EW/B/019, dated September 1967, released by the Board of Trade, United Kingdom.” Accessed 6-3-2022 at: https://www.baaa-acro.com/sites/default/files/2018-02/N708PA.pdf

Martin, Edwin L. “Montserrat Defense Force officer recalls Pan Am crash recovery mission in 1965.” Montserrat Spotlight, 9-22-2019. Accessed 6-3-2022 at: https://www.montserratspotlight.com/former-montserrat-defense-force-officer-william-duberry-recalls-pan-am-crash-recovery-mission-54-years-later/

United Press International. “Downed Airliner Passenger List.” The Register, Santa Ana, CA. 9-17-1965, A11. Accessed 6-3-2022: https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-register-sep-17-1965-p-11/