What happened
On July 12, 1953, a Transocean Air Lines flight departed Guam for Oakland, California, with scheduled stops at Wake Island and Honolulu. The aircraft, carrying a crew of eight and 50 passengers, successfully completed the first leg of the journey to Wake Island. After picking up one additional passenger, the flight prepared for its next segment toward Hawaii.
Following weather briefings from the U. S. Weather Bureau, the crew filed an instrument flight rules (IFR) plan. The intended route was a rhumb-line path at a cruising altitude of 15,000 feet with an airspeed of 236 mph. At the time of takeoff from Wake Island at 06:58, the aircraft's gross weight was recorded at 94,397 pounds, which remained under the maximum allowable limit of 100,000 pounds.
Shortly after departure, the flight maintained regular communication with air traffic control. At 07:29, the crew confirmed they had reached their cruising altitude. The final radio transmission occurred at 08:29, when the aircraft reported its position at 19 degree 48’ north latitude and 171 degree 48’ east longitude, noting that it was flying between cloud layers.
After the flight failed to reach its next designated reporting point, Wake Island Air Route Traffic Control issued an alert at 10:01. Later that day, a different aircraft traveling from Honolulu to Wake Island reported seeing a green flare near 19 degree 23’N and 172 degree 05’E. Despite search efforts by the U. S. Coast Guard involving both aircraft and sea vessels, no trace of the flight was found.
Findings
Official investigators were unable to determine a cause for the disappearance based on the available evidence.