All Survived 1956 Boeing 377 Ditching In Pacific

While the story of US Airways Flight 1549's "Miracle on the Hudson" has been reported in some general media as "unprecedented," it's really not. Aviation historians know it, and so do the passengers of Pan Am Flight 943.

The San Francisco Chronicle recently interviewed the surviving passengers in that 1956 incident... and while the circumstances differed in many ways, many of the emotions may have been the same.

The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a four-engine, pressurized piston airliner. Despite its technical challenges and resulting low production rate, the plane was popular among well-heeled travellers for its trans-oceanic range and luxurious cabin. A Stratocruiser flying at Pan Am Flight 943 was headed to San Francisco from Hawaii on October 15, 1956, carrying a crew of six, 25 passengers and their luggage.

At 3:30 am, over a remote area of the Pacific Ocean, two of the plane's four engines shuddered to a stop. Unlike Captain Sully Sullenberger, 42-year-old Pan Am Captain Richard Ogg still had partial power. But it was clear that turning back or pressing on both held high risks.

Ogg had been in contact with the US Coast Guard cutter Pontchartrain, which served as a relay station for the HF radio transmissions then in use by long-haul aircraft. Ogg decided that the best hope for the survival of the souls onboard his aircraft was to position and circle near the ship, burn off fuel, and make a water landing after sun-up.

Unfortunately, on approach at 90 knots, one wing of the plane clipped a swell about a mile from the Ponchartrain, spinning the plane into the water. The ship's reported feeling the impact which shattered the plane's nose and tore off the tail, and assuming no one onboard could have survived.

But they did, every one... and when they arrived in San Francisco aboard the Pontchartrain, they had stories similar to those of the passengers of US Airways 1549, including a captain with nerves of steel who walked the aisle twice to make sure everyone was out before being rescued himself.

Unlike US Airways 1549, Pan Am 943 gave its passengers and crew hours to anticipate their water landing, while 1549 was on the water 121 seconds after the engines quit. Conversely, the Airbus A320 floated for hours after landing, while the broken Stratocruiser disappeared below the water just 21 minutes after impact.

Pat Pimsner of San Carlos, CA remembers the 1956 ditching. She was the purser on Flight 943. She tells the Chronicle she's still proud of the competence and helpfulness of the passengers and crew that day, and saw similar traits among those aboard Flight 1549.

After more than a half-century of reflection on the 1956 event, she was asked what advice she'd offer the passengers who experienced The Miracle on the Hudson. She laughed and said, "Don't do it again."

FMI: Watch Video On The Rescue Of Pan Am 943