Aircraft and Crew
The aircraft was a Boeing 707-321B, registration N494PA, named Clipper Malay. It had its first flight on March 7, 1968, and was delivered to Pan Am on March 28. The crew consisted of nine members, eight from the United States and one from Sweden. The captain had 24,000 flight hours, including 6,737 on the Boeing 707.
Accident Description
The flight departed New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on a scheduled service to Caracas Simon Bolivar International Airport on December 12, 1968. While nearing Caracas, the aircraft disappeared from radar. At 22:05 local time, it crashed into the Caribbean Sea and exploded. The wreckage was located 11.4 miles (18.3 km) from Caracas. All 51 passengers and crew on board died. The crash was the deadliest aviation disaster in Venezuela at that time, later surpassed by Viasa Flight 742 in 1969.
Notable Passengers
Among the victims were Olga Antonetti, Miss Venezuela 1962, and Rafael Antonio Curra, a Venezuelan ichthyologist and university professor.
Accident Cause
Pilot error resulting from an optical illusion created by the city lights of Caracas on an uphill slope was believed to have caused the accident. However, the National Transportation Safety Board stated that the probable cause was undetermined.
Book
The book "The Lost Lives of the Clipper Malay" provides details of the aircraft, the accident, and the recovery process, which lasted over a month, along with biographical accounts of each victim.