Pan Am Flight 292

Pan Am Flight 292 was operated by a Boeing 707-120B that flew into Chances Peak on the island of Montserrat on 17 September 1965 while on a flight from Fort-de-France - Le Lamentin Airport in Martinique to Coolidge International Airport in Antigua and Barbuda. The aircraft was destroyed, and there were no survivors among the 30 passengers and crew on board.

Pan Am Flight 292

N708PA, the aircraft involved in the accident in September 1961
Accident
Date	17 September 1965
Summary	Pilot error, controlled flight into terrain
Site	Chances Peak, Montserrat
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 707-121B
Aircraft name	Clipper Constitution
Operator	Pan American World Airways
Call sign	CLIPPER 292
Registration	N708PA
Flight origin	Fort-de-France - Le Lamentin Airport, Martinique
1st stopover	Coolidge International Airport, St. John's, Antigua
Last stopover	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Destination	New York City
Occupants	30
Passengers	21
Crew	9
Fatalities	30
Survivors	0

Aircraft

The aircraft, bearing the registration N708PA and named Clipper Constitution by its owner Pan American World Airways (Pan Am),^[1] was the first Boeing 707 ever built that had made the first flight of the type on 20 December 1957. It had been used by Boeing on test flights prior to delivery to Pan Am in November the following year.^[2][3]

Crash

The aircraft departed Fort-de-France's Le Lamentin Airport on a scheduled flight to New York City via St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda and San Juan, Puerto Rico.^[4] There were 21 passengers and a crew of nine on board. While on approach to Coolidge International Airport in stormy weather, at an altitude of 2,760 ft (841 m), the aircraft hit the 3,002 ft (915 m)-high Chances Peak in Montserrat and caught fire.^[1]

Cause

The cause was determined to be pilot error: the crew made a navigational error and descended below the safe minimum altitude while unsure of their position.^[5]