Passengers 42 Survivors 0 Aircraft name Clipper Malay Summary Pilot error Location Venezuela | Crew 9 Aircraft type Boeing 707-321B Date 12 December 1968 Fatalities 51 (all) | |
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Site near Caracas, Venezuela Destination Simón Bolívar International Airport Operator Pan American World Airways Similar South African Airways F, Air France Flight 212, 1968 Kham Duc C‑130 shootdown, El Al Flight 253 attack, Braniff Flight 352 | ||
Pan Am Flight 217 was a Boeing 707 that crashed with no survivors near Caracas, Venezuela on December 12, 1968 due to pilot error.
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Aircraft
Pan Am Flight 217 was operated by a Pan American (Pan Am) Boeing 707-321B (registration N494PA, Clipper Malay).
Accident description
The aircraft took off from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport on an international scheduled flight to Caracas Simon Bolivar International Airport on December 12, 1968. When the aircraft was nearing Caracas at night towards the end of its three-hour flight, it disappeared from Caracas air traffic control's radar screens. At this point a call was made to the Venezuelan Navy to search for the aircraft. The Boeing 707's wreckage was found 11.4 mi (18.3 km) from Caracas. All 51 passengers and crew died in the crash.
One of those who perished in the flight 217 crash was Olga Antonetti, a former Miss Venezuela.
Accident cause
The cause of the crash was believed to be pilot error, as a result of an optical illusion created by the lights of the city on an upslope. This caused the plane to crash into the sea and explode on impact, killing all on board.