abstract
| - Boeing 377-10-29 construction number 15960, original registration N90944. Operated by American Overseas Airlines as Flagship Ireland Later operated by Pan Am as Clipper Romance of the Skies, crashed into the Pacific Ocean on 8 November 1957 around 5:25 PM. None of the 36 passengers and 8 crew survived. Pan Am Flight 7 was an around-the-world-flight originating in San Francisco that flew westbound with several stops before arriving in Philadelphia. On the morning of November 8, 1957 it departed San Francisco on its first leg to Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii at 11:51am PST. The flight never arrived in Hawaii and on November 14 the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Philippine Sea spotted bodies and small pieces of wreckage floating on the ocean. The cause of the accident was never determined. Toxicology results showed higher than normal levels of carbon monoxide in the remains suggesting, but not proving, that carbon monoxide poisoning caused the crash. There is speculation that two passengers had a motive to bring the plane down. Eugene Crosthwaite, a 46 year old purser, had shown blasting powder to a relative days prior to the flight, and had cut a stepdaughter from his will only one hour before the flight. William Payne, an ex-Navy demolitions expert, had taken out large insurance policies on himself just before the flight, and had a $10,000 debt he was desperate to pay off. The insurance investigator later suspected him of never being on the plane. His wife received at least $125,000 in payouts.
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