Searchers have located the wreckage of a Pan Am aircraft that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Puerto Rico in 1952, nearly 74 years after the incident. Multiple outlets report the plane is identified as the Clipper Endeavor. The wreckage is found about 2,000 feet underwater, and photographs released from the discovery show the Pan American logo and the aircraft name still legible.
The crash killed 52 people. Reports state the accident involved a hard landing in the water after the aircraft lost engine power shortly after takeoff. According to accounts cited by one outlet, 17 passengers and crew survived the initial landing, but confusion and panic followed as passengers tried to locate life vests.
Several sources connect the crash to changes in commercial aviation safety practices. They say the incident helped drive requirements for passenger safety briefings on flights, which are now given routinely by airlines. One outlet also describes the discovery as the result of an extended search effort that took years, with the wreckage finally being recovered and identified.
