Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Today, January 30th, 2024, marks the 50th anniversary of the Pan Am Flight 806 crash in Pago Pago in 1974. The Boeing 707 Clipper Radiant crashed on approach to Pago Pago International Airport, killing 87 passengers and ten crew members. It should be noted that all the passengers and crew survived the initial impact of the of crash, but following the fire, only 9 passengers and one crew member remained alive. However, the one crew member and 5 passengers of the nine survivors died in the days after the accident.

Reports of the crash say the plane first hit the trees at an elevation of 25 feet above ground level and the impact was at about 3,900 feet, stopping around 3,100 feet before the threshold of the runway when it hit a stone wall barrier.

According to accounts of the crash, firefighters were on standby at the runway and helped, with local residents later assisting. However, from the combination of local delays and only a single lane dirt road allowing access to the main fuselage, the firefighters were delayed enough that they had to prioritize controlling the fire before they were able to rescue anyone.

It was an international scheduled flight from Auckland, New Zealand to California, with stops at Pago Pago and Honolulu, Hawaii.

While the National Transportation Safety Board (NTBS) issued its report listing possible reasons for the crash — sudden wind shear, poor visibility, etc. — to this day some of the families still question the failure of the crew to carry out their due diligence.

There is no plaque commemorating those lost in American Samoa’s only major plane crash since its international airport opened.

Photos recently taken by Samoa News show the crash site where the plane remains were buried under the ground (covered with dirt at least) shortly after the crash itself happened.

What remains of the plane, according to local sources, is literally under the road seen in the photo — it's directly behind the runway in land, just past the fence gate (which can be seen in the distance in the image pointing directly down the road.)

Samoa News joins family and friends of the victims of the flight in remembering their loved ones today.