Oakland – Honolulu – Kingman Reef – Pago Pago – Auckland

On January 11, 1938 at 08:30 AM, Oakland – Honolulu – Kingman Reef – Pago Pago – Auckland experienced a crash involving Sikorsky S-42, operated by Pan American World Airways - PAA, with the event recorded near Pacific Ocean All World.

The flight was categorized as postal (mail) and the reported phase was flight at a lake, sea, ocean, river crash site.

7 people were known to be on board, 7 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 7, crew fatalities: 7, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The crew was performing a mail flight from Oakland, California, to Auckland, New Zealand, with intermediate stops in Honolulu, Kingman Reef and Pago Pago. One hour after his departure from Pago Pago, in the early hours, crew encountered technical problems and was forced to dump the fuel. The seaplane aircraft exploded and crashed into the sea some 120 km south of Pago Pago. Some debris were found few hours later and all seven occupants were killed, among them Captain Edwin C. Musick, first official Captain by Pan Am. The aircraft was christened 'Samoan Clipper'.

Aircraft reference details include registration NC16734, MSN 4207, year of manufacture 1936.