Pan Am Flight 759

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**Pan American Flight 759**
Summary
Date	July 9, 1982
Type	Microburst-induced wind shear
Site	Kenner, Louisiana
Passengers	138
Crew	7
Injuries	0
Fatalities	153 (8 on the ground)
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-235
Aircraft name	Clipper Defiance
Operator	Pan American World Airways
Tail number	N4737
Flight origin	Miami International Airport
Last stopover	New Orleans International Airport
Destination	McCarran International Airport

Pan Am Flight 759, Clipper Defiance, a Boeing 727-235, N4737, was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Miami to Las Vegas, with an en route stop at New Orleans. On July 9, 1982 at 4:07:57 PM central daylight time, Clipper Defiance, with seven crew members, one non-revenue passenger in the cockpit jumpseat, and 137 passengers (a total of 145 people on board), began its takeoff from runway 10 at the New Orleans International Airport (now Louis Armstrong International), in Kenner, Louisiana.

At the time of Clipper Defiance's takeoff, there were thunderstorms over the east end of the airport. The winds were gusty and swirling. Clipper Defiance lifted off the runway, climbed to an altitude of between 95 and 150 feet (29 and 46 m), and then began to descend. About 2,376 feet (724 m) from the end of runway, Clipper Defiance struck a line of trees at an altitude of about 50 feet (15 m). The aircraft continued descending for another 2,234 feet (681 m), hitting trees and houses before crashing in a residential area about 4,610 feet (1405 m) from the end of the runway.

Clipper Defiance was destroyed during the impact, explosion, and subsequent ground fire. A total of 153 people were killed (all 145 on board and 8 on the ground). Six houses were destroyed; five houses were damaged substantially.[[1]]

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the accident was the aircraft's encounter with a microburst-induced wind shear during the liftoff, which imposed a downdraft and a decreasing headwind, the effects of which the pilot would have had difficulty recognizing and reacting to in time for the aircraft's descent to be arrested before its impact with trees. Contributing to the accident was the limited capability of then-current wind shear detection technology.

A memorial to the crash victims is located at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Kenner, Louisiana.[[2]]

This article contains information taken from the (government-generated public domain) NTSB Accident Report.