Pan Am Flight 759

Pan Am Flight 759

A Pan Am Boeing 727-200 similar to the aircraft involved in the accident.
Accident summary
Date	July 9, 1982
Summary	Microburst-induced wind shear
Site	Kenner, Louisiana United States 29°59′15″N 90°14′08″W / 29.98750°N 90.23556°W / 29.98750; -90.23556Coordinates: 29°59′15″N 90°14′08″W / 29.98750°N 90.23556°W / 29.98750; -90.23556
Passengers	138
Crew	7
Fatalities	153 (all, including 8 on the ground)
Injuries (non-fatal)	4 (on the ground)
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-235
Aircraft name	Clipper Defiance
Operator	Pan Am
Registration	N4737
Flight origin	Miami International Airport
Stopover	New Orleans Int'l Airport
Destination	McCarran Int'l Airport

Pan Am Flight 759 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from Miami to San Diego, with en route stops in New Orleans and Las Vegas, United States. On July 9, 1982, the Boeing 727 flying this route was forced down by a microburst shortly after takeoff, crashed into the New Orleans suburb of Kenner. All 145 on board and 8 people on the ground were killed. The crash had the highest number of aviation fatalities in 1982.

The aircraft involved, a 14-year-old Boeing 727-235, registration N4737, construction number 19457/518, was delivered to National Airlines on January 31, 1968. The aircraft was powered by three Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7B turbofan engines, and was renamed from 37 Susan/Erica to Clipper Defiance after National was merged with Pan Am.

At the time of accident, the aircraft was carrying 137 passengers and one non-revenue passenger in the cockpit jumpseat, along with a crew of seven.

The Captain was Kenneth McCullers. He was described by others as an "above average" pilot, who was "comfortable" to fly with because of his excellent judgement and ability to exercise command. The First Officer was described by other captains as a conscientious pilot with excellent knowledge of aircraft systems and company flight procedures and techniques. All three flight crew, including the captain, the first officer and the second officer, were reported having no sleep or health problems, and had passed all proficiency checks without issues.

The weather report issued at 0740 on July 9 by New Orleans National Meteorological Center contained thunderstorm forecast, possible severe turbulence, icing and wind shear. The weather chart at 1800 local time revealed the New Orleans area was influenced by the high pressure condition located 60 nm off the Louisiana coast. No fronts or low pressure areas were within 100 nm of the airport. The forecast between 1200 and 2200 indicated “scattered clouds, variable to broken clouds at 3,000 ft; thunderstorms and moderate rain showers."