About 45 years before US Airways Captain Sully Sullenberger successful ditched an Airbus in the Hudson, a Pan Am crew, flying Flight 943, a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, did the same in the Pacific halfway between Hawaii and California. The ABC Evening News ran the fascinating story, The Hero Pilot of 1956, in mid-February. The Boeing 377 was the last of the large commercial transcontinental/oceanic piston engine transport aircraft. It had private staterooms and a lower deck lounge. It was just a few years after this accident that the jets arrived – first the Douglas DC-8 and the Boeing 707.My wife Nancy was a flight attendant for Pan Am in the 1970s. After leaving Pan Am, she worked as a safety specialist for the Association of Flight Attendants. Pat Pimsner, a flight attendant on Flight 943, tells of her experience that day, October 16, 1956. My wife says Pat reminds her of her boss, Del Mott. Bright, beautiful, and tough is how Nancy remembers her. Del is also a former flight attendant who became a safety hawk and is credited with many of the cabin safety procedures that are common today. Some no doubt helped bring about the more recent Miracle on the Hudson.
Note: After she read my original post, I received an e-mail from Del Mott explaining that Flight 943 was not a DC-7, but was a Boeing 377. After a little research, I discovered that of course she was correct and I made the change. Thanks Del.
