1956, Pan Am 943, ditched in the pacific half way between Hawaii and San Francisco. Everybody survived. I love how he passengers are all back in their clean pressed suits as they come off the coast guard ship. A different time.
Life Magazine article 1956
Coast Guard Video on youtube
Here’s how I found this article (if you care). Several of the Miracle on the Hudson passengers were gathered back on the plane with Sully at a local aviation museum for a picture session. This was big news here, and I started asking myself “How did Sully know he could land in water and float long enough to get anybody out?” This is how. Pilots study this stuff. The pilot of Pan Am 943 knew from his research that the tail of his Boeing 377 would likely break off when he touched down. So he moved all passengers to the front of the plane. Sure enough, the tail broke off and nobody was there.
