''Samoan Clipper'' was one of ten

Pan American Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

s. It exploded near

Pago Pago, American Samoa Pago Pago ( or ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, the main island of American Samoa. Pago Pago ...

, on January 11, 1938, while piloted by aviator Edwin Musick. Musick and his crew of six died in the crash. The aircraft was carrying only airmail and express freight; no passengers were aboard. The aircraft developed an oil leak shortly after taking off from Pago Pago harbor, and the crew decided to return to port. However, the S-42, fully loaded with fuel, was too heavy to land safely in the limited space of the harbor, so the crew elected to dump fuel before landing. While fuel dumping was in progress, there was a fire and explosion which destroyed the aircraft, killing all aboard. The exact cause of ignition for the fire could not be determined.Aircraft accident report
from Bureau of Air Commerce, 1 April 1938.

References

External links

1938 flights to and from New Zealand

at http://planecrashinfo.com Individual aircraft Airliner accidents and incidents involving in-flight explosions Aviation accidents and incidents in American Samoa Airliner accidents and incidents in American Samoa Pan Am accidents and incidents 1938 in American Samoa Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States in 1938 {{AmericanSamoa-stub