''Samoan Clipper'' was one of ten

Pan American Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...

Sikorsky S-42 The Sikorsky S-42 was a commercial flying boat designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft to meet requirements for a long-range flying boat laid out by Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) in 1931. The innovative design included wing flaps, variabl ...

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fuselag ...

s. It exploded near

Pago Pago, American Samoa Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...

, on January 11, 1938, while piloted by aviator

Ed Musick Edwin Charles Musick (August 13, 1894 – January 11, 1938) was chief pilot for Pan American World Airways and pioneered many of Pan Am's transoceanic routes including the famous route across the Pacific Ocean on the ''China Clipper''. Biogra ...

. Musick and his crew of six died in the crash. The aircraft was carrying only airmail and express freight; no passengers were aboard. The aircraft developed an oil leak shortly after taking off from Pago Pago harbor, and the crew decided to return to port. However, the S-42, fully loaded with fuel, was too heavy to land safely in the limited space of the harbor, so the crew elected to dump fuel before landing. While

fuel dumping Fuel dumping (or a fuel jettison) is a procedure used by aircraft in certain emergency situations before a return to the airport shortly after takeoff, or before landing short of the intended destination (emergency landing) to reduce the aircra ...

was in progress, there was a fire and explosion which destroyed the aircraft, killing all aboard. The exact cause of ignition for the fire could not be determined.Aircraft accident report
from

Bureau of Air Commerce The Air Commerce Act of 1926 created an Aeronautic Branch of the United States Department of Commerce. Its functions included testing and licensing of pilots, certification of aircraft and investigation of accidents. In 1934, the Aeronautics Bran ...

, 1 April 1938.

References

External links

1938 flights to and from New Zealand

at http://planecrashinfo.com Individual aircraft Airliner accidents and incidents involving in-flight explosions Aviation accidents and incidents in American Samoa Airliner accidents and incidents in American Samoa Pan Am accidents and incidents 1938 in American Samoa Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1938 {{AmericanSamoa-stub