1952 Pan Am Wreck Found After More Than 70-Year Search
The nearly intact DC-4 was found 2,000 feet down, and investigators say the crash helped drive modern passenger safety briefings.
- On June 2, 2026, a multi-partner search team led by the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, Deep Sea Vision, and Discovery Channel located the wreckage of Pan Am's Clipper Endeavor 2,000 feet below the ocean surface off Puerto Rico.
- The Clipper Endeavor crashed on April 11, 1952, after losing both right-side engines shortly after takeoff from San Juan, killing 52 people and leaving 17 survivors; the disaster prompted mandatory pre-flight safety briefings industry-wide.
- Using high-resolution sonar and autonomous underwater vehicles, researchers captured more than 350,000 images of the wreckage without disturbing the site, resolving a 74-year-old aviation mystery.
- The Air/Sea Heritage Foundation is coordinating with the Government of Puerto Rico to secure legal protections for the wreck site and establish a permanent memorial; no remains will be recovered.
- Details of the discovery will feature in an upcoming episode of Discovery Channel's Expedition Unknown later this year, potentially offering new hope for families seeking closure regarding other missing ocean aircraft.
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The remains of a plane belonging to the extinct Pan Am airline, which crashed on April 11, 1952 in waters north of Puerto Rico and which claimed the lives of 52 people, were found by an aviation search team working with the Discovery Channel television channel.
After years of searching with an underwater drone, the wreck of the Douglas DC-4 was found. The ghostly images of the "Clipper Endeavor" are unique for researchers. After years of searching with an underwater drone, the wreck of the Douglas DC-4 was found. The ghostly images of the "Clipper Endeavor" are unique for researchers.
Wreckage of Pan Am Plane Found After 74 Years
The 1952 crash off Puerto Rico killed 52 people and helped spur the passenger safety briefings used on flights today. SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — Searchers have found the wreckage of the Pan Am Clipper Endeavor nearly 2,000 feet beneath the Atlantic Ocean, resolving a 74-year mystery surrounding a deadly crash that helped change commercial...
The "Clipper Endeavor" crashed over the Atlantic in 1952, 52 people were killed. The accident overturned modern aviation. Now the wreck was found in the sea.
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