1974 — Apr 22, Pan Am #812, Hong Kong to LA crash, Mesehe Mt., Indonesia–US 26 of 107

–107 Eckert. “Fatal commercial air transport crashes, 1924-1981.” AJFMP, 3/1, Mar 1982, Table 1.
–107 Gero. Aviation Disasters…World’s Major Civil Airliner Crashes Since 1950. 1996, p. 126.
–107 UPI. “Jet with 107 aboard crashes in Indonesia.” The Argus, Fremont, CA. 4-23-1974. 1.
–107 UPI. “‘No Survivors’ of Jungle Crash.” The Register, Santa Ana, CA. 4-24-1974, A3.
–26 Americans
–26 Americans (UPI. List of Dead.” The Register, Santa Ana, CA. 4-24-1974, A3.)
–17 Passengers
— 9 Crew
— 1 Stewardess Ann M. Beran, Covina, California, Danish
— 1 Stewardess Ingrid I. Johannson, San Diego, California, Swedish.
–11 California residents
–1 Passenger
–8 Crew
–1 Stewardess Ann M. Beran, Covina, California, Danish
–1 Stewardess Ingrid I. Johannson, San Diego, California, Swedish.

Narrative Information

Gero: “….The accident occurred in evening darkness with no moon, and in an area of clear weather conditions. Its undercarriage extended, the aircraft was banking to the right and on a heading of between 155 and 160 degrees when it crashed in a wooded area at an approximate elevation of 3,000 ft (1,000 m).

“It was believed that, in an attempt to expedite the crew executed a right-hand procedural turn prematurely to join the 263-degree outbound track of the traffic pattern. This maneuver was apparently based on the indication of only one of the aircraft’s ADF [automatic direction finder] receivers, while the other one remained in a steady condition. However, the indication of being over the non-directional beacon (NDB) had been false; the jet was in fact some 35 miles (55 km) north of that point, and the use of a non-standard procedure had prevented the pilots from knowing their exact position.

“Although attempts to obtain a proper ADF indication were subsequently made by the crew, this would probably not have been possible because at the time the beacon was shielded by a mountain range. The approach was then continued until impact.

“The investigative board [NTSB] was unable to determine what caused one ADF needle to swing as if to give an over-station indication, though it may have resulted from either external or internal interference.

“There was no evidence of interference by a radio broadcasting station. It was also believed that the pilot-in-command of the flight lacked familiarity with the procedures at this particular airport.

“A recommendation made by the board for the installation at Denpasar of distance-measuring equipment (DME) to supplement the existing very-high-frequency omni-directional range (VOR) facility would later be implemented.”

Newspapers

Apr 23, UPI: “Denpasar, Bali (UPI) – A Pan American World Airways 707 jetliner crashed in flames in mountainous country on its approach to the airport on this Indonesian island Monday. The airline said there may have been survivors. Airline officials said the plane carried 107 persons, including 96 passengers and 11 crew members.

“Search crews had to travel through jungle to reach the crash site and there was no immediate word on casualties, although a Pan American spokesman in Hong Kong where the flight originated indicated there may have been survivors…

“The four-engine Boeing jet was Pan Am’s flight 812 from Hong Kong to Las Angeles via Bali, Sydney, Fiji, and Honolulu.

“Police said the jet was seen to crash in flames in mountainous, jungled terrain, between Bunglon and Singaraja at the western end of Bali, which is 90 miles long. Indonesian officials and police were enroute to the crash site. It was about 36 miles short of the airport and about 500 miles east of Jakarta, the national capital of Indonesia.

“The Denpasar control tower said the last word from the airliner was ‘field in sight,’ radioed at 10:24 p.m. Balinese time (10:24 a.m. EDT).

“It was the third Pan Am Boeing 707 to crash in the South Seas in 10 months….” (UPI. “Jet with 107 aboard crashes in Indonesia.” The Argus, Fremont, CA. 4-23-1974. 1.)

Apr 24, UPI: “Denpasar, Bali (UPI) – Indonesian army paratroopers hacked their way with machetes to the jungle site of a Pan American World Airways jet crash on the island of Bali just before dark Tuesday and said there were no survivors among the 107 persons aboard. Twenty-six Americans were among the victims….” (UPI. “‘No Survivors’ of Jungle Crash.” The Register, Santa Ana, CA. 4-24-1974, A3.)

Apr 24, UPI: “New York (UPI) – A list of the American and Canadian passengers and the crew of the Pan American 707 which crashed in Bali:

“Passengers, Americans – 17:

1. Arron, Daniel, Seattle, Wash.
2. Block, Sonia, New York, N.Y.
3. Burkland, Signe Carolyn, Santa Barbara, Calif.
4. Causey, John Paul, Bethesda, Md.
5. Causey, Virginia, Bethesda, Md.
6. Heaton, Beryl Pinch, Long Island, N.Y.
7. Hedge, John Alan, Wilmington, Del.
8. Hedge, Olive, Wilmington, Del.
9. Lee, Josephine Chandler, Woodstock, N.Y.
10. Reymond, Maurice, New York, N.Y.
11. Singer, Arthur H., El Paso, Tex.
12. Singer, Elizabeth, El Paso, Tex.
13. Wernon, Barbara, New York, N.Y.
14. Wernon, Irving, New York, N.Y.
15. Wolcott, Don E., Bandung, Indonesia.
16. Wolfe, Edward Arnold.
17. Wolfe, Susan Schenk.
….
“Crew, Cockpit:
1. Captain Donald B. Zinke, Monte Sereno, Calif., American.
2. First Officer John E. Schroeder, San Francisco, Calif., American.
3. Third Officer Melvin A. Pratto, Great Falls, Mont., American.
4. Engineer Edward J. Keating, San Rafael, Calif., American.
5. Relief Engineer Timothy J. Crowley, Belmont, Calif.
6. Purser Mary L. Butterworth, Santa Monica, Calif., American
7. Purser Beverly a Schmitt, San Francisco, Calif., American.
8. Stewardess Ann M. Beran, Covina, Calif, Danish.
9. Stewardess Janice L. Fanning, Manhattan Beach, Calif., American.
10. Stewardess Ingrid I. Johannson, San Diego, Calif., Swedish.
11. Stewardess Donna C. Kent, Santa Monica, Calif., American.”

(UPI. List of Dead.” The Register, Santa Ana, CA. 4-24-1974, A3.)

Sources

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.

Gero, David. Aviation Disasters: The World’s Major Civil Airliner Crashes Since 1950 (Second Edition). London: Patrick Stephens Limited, 1996.

UPI (United Press International). “Jet with 107 aboard crashes in Indonesia.” The Argus, Fremont, CA. 4-23-1974, p.1. Accessed 12-18-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/argus-apr-23-1974-p-1/

UPI. List of Dead.” The Register, Santa Ana, CA. 4-24-1974, A3. Accessed 12-18-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-register-apr-24-1974-p-3/

UPI (United Press International). “‘No Survivors’ of Jungle Crash.” The Register, Santa Ana, CA. 4-24-1974, A3. Accessed 12-18-2021 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-register-apr-24-1974-p-3/