On December 8, 1963, Pan American Airways flight 214 took off from San Juan, Puerto Rico bound for Philadelphia with an intermediate stop in Baltimore. The Boeing 707 left San Juan at 4:10 p.m. EST. It landed at Baltimore’s Friendship International Airport at 7:35 p.m. and refueled, departing again just before 8:30 p.m. for the short trip to Philadelphia. Seventy three passengers and eight crew members were on board. A SIGMET was in effect for thunderstorms and turbulence in the Philadelphia area.
A powerful cold front was moving though the Mid-Atlantic States and strong winds were being reported in the City of Brotherly Love. Winds were from the west at 20 knots with gusts to 30 knots. At 8:42 p.m., the plane reported in over the New Castle VOR. Clipper 214 went into a holding pattern waiting for the weather to clear enough for an instrument landing. Five other planes were circling also.
At 8:58 p.m., a transmission was heard on the approach control frequency, “MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY, Clipper 214 out of control. Here we go.” Seconds later, a National Airlines flight nearby was heard to say, “Clipper 214 is going down in flames.”
The jet crashed one minute later in a field east of Elkton, Maryland. There was a light rain falling in the area, with lightning observed. At nearby Wilmington, the weather was scattered clouds at 900 feet, an overcast ceiling at 4400 feet and a visibility of 8 miles. There was a thunderstorm in progress with light rain. The temperature was 44 with a dewpoint of 43. Winds were WSW at 10 knots. Lightning was observed both in cloud and cloud to ground.
The 707 was struck by lightning that ignited fuel vapors in the number one reserve fuel tank. The resulting explosion caused the left wing to separate from the aircraft and control was lost. All 81 people on board perished.
The accident led to new safety rules regarding fuel tanks.
