PanAm 943 Rescue

[beeferetown]

Bacon and eggs on the fire! Thats all you have to say and were coming down hard.

[juantrippe82]

Pan American had some of the best pilots. In an age in which planes frequently flew in areas in which there was no radar control or 'dark' areas where there was no radio its amazing that they were able to get back to the coast guard boat in time.

[Mxsmanic]

Accidents like this demonstrate why airlines went to jet engines instead of piston engines, even though jet engines consume more fuel. A jet engine is 100 times more reliable than a piston engine. Engine failures were all too common prior to the jet age, and they didn't always end as favorably as this one did.

[BlueLily01]

very awsomw video

[eduardalet]

Always proud of the US Coast Guard , keep up the good work.

[airplanebuilderman]

@eduardalet I'm an ex coast guad i did 8 years thanks for your support

[xxchinookxx]

I wonder how deep into the ocean this aircraft is now.

[pilot53]

The only ones that did not survive were birds and dogs in the cargo area.

[fordlandau]

What a great clip...so lucky the weather was good...The Boeing Stratocruiser had an endemic problem with propellor failure

[TheHandymanQld]

The Pontchartrain was a floating relay station for aircraft radio signals to and from Hawaii to mainland USA. The aircraft had reached its PONR (Point Of No Return) that being with no fuel to return to its departure point but enough fuel to get it to its destination.

[bjs030]

Is it coincidence that Maui's identifier is OGG, just wondering is there is a relationship there

[wcolbyHD]

@bjs030 Wikipedia says... The airport code pays homage to aviation pioneer Bertram J. Hogg who worked for what is now Hawaiian Airlines flying aircraft into the late 1960s. AOPAPILOT magazine 2/10 says it was named for the pilot, Capt. Richard Ogg. Now I wonder what airport will be called Sullenberger ?

[Paulosoy]

I remember there was a tv movie about this crash, not a documentary like this one, but a real movie, with actors, script and everything, it was black and white ,probably done in the late 50's. I wish somebody post it here, please.

[juneogg]

I am pretty sure that is the video that my dad (Captain Ogg) and some of the other actual people in the ditching re-inacted. It used to air on the Discovery Channel on a show called Disasters How and Why.

[Paulosoy]

No, I am pretty sure, it was a Hollywood movie, shot in the 50s. It was not a re inacted, it was with actors. It was about the 943 rescue I m sure. I wish the show you said from the Discovery Channel was avaiable here. Perhaps now after the Hudson river accident it will be played again by them.

[buckthebuddah]

one of the many manned on Atlantic and Pacific Oceans along the Trans Atlantic and Trans Pacific flight routes. Other stations manned were stations "O", "P", "R", and "S" in the Pacific and "A", "B", "C", "D", "E", and "F" in the Atlantic.

[notahemi]

What was the approx. location of this. I'm wondering if it was Is) standard for the Coast Guard to be on station this far out. Or if it was just a great bit of luck.

[buckthebuddah]

This is sort of an insult to the USCG " be on station this far out. Or if it was just a great bit of luck. " It was on Ocean Station "N" approximately mid point betwixt California and Hawaii,

[notahemi]

Geez. It may be a stupid question or just ignorance. No need to get all defensive about it. Now that I have come back to reply, I see that other's have wondered too. Someone, took the time to give a decent answer. Seems it had something to do with the Korean War? "COAST" guard gives a land lubber the impression that they would be closer to shore. Inferiority complex? I think they protect Alaskan crab boats. Being "on station" in the middle of the Pacific? Is it still done today? Just asking.

[EugenBaumann1]

I have a Aviation History magazine at work that states that the Pontchartrain was stationed nearby serving as a communications relay for aircraft crossing the ocean

[TheJapanChannelDcom]

Shame about the fake radio transmissions .. loses some credibility...

[bathsheba99]

This is an absolutely FANTASTIC video and story. I have been a Flight Attendant for over 30 years and have never heard about this until now. We should have seen this in training years ago.

Thank you very much for posting this amazing video !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lawyerwannabe]

thanks for bringing back a great piece of CG history. my first division officer was a radioman onboard this ship when this rescue took place. by the time i served under him, he was a lieutenant commander in 1974 but during the rescue, he was a radioman second class...

all the best

Eduardo F. Cidade, Sr.

CWO3, USCG, Retired

[boxerinj]

Semper Paratus! Thank you, thank all of you.

[canadianbuck77]

Great video!!!

[LovinJesusALatte]

Incredible!

[hislivingsacrifice]

Cool!!

[Lachance8]

Amazing!

[sodofgeezer]

Top heroic stuff This pilot & sully are a breed apart...true skill

[jmarzioli]

I am the "mother's child"(Joanne Jacobe, though the Life Magazine says Joan) that you see handed to the coast guard fellow. I have heard about this event all my life and have the Life magazine with the article about this. To see this video, just brought me to tears. When I was a teen, I wanted to write the pilot/crew to thank them. I know how that experience affected me, even though I don't remember it being only 2-1/2 yrs old. I wonder how it affected others who survived this event.

[Lachance8]

jmarzioli, So thankful you and the others survived!!!!

[AndreRieuFans]

It would be interesting for those who were on the plane to have a reunion. I imagine many are now gone, and time would say we need to hurry to bring these brave and fortunate people together. I know I would like to see and read about it. I wonder if you contacted LIFE (of course the publisher of it) and made the suggestion?

Also: Q: Have you written to Sully?

[jmarzioli]

Never wrote Sully, but when I heard about the crash, I pulled out my 1956 copy of Life Magazine and shared it with colleagues who were interested in seeing it. Would love to meet with the other survivors and surviving Coast Guard crew. Wrote Life Mag years ago about finding Richard Ogg, no reply.

[fellowbear]

Saw this story on ABC World News Tonight this past week. Great video of a skilled crew. They had one of the flight attendants and the twin girls interviewed.

[tracy13920]

My dad was on this cutter as well, I remember him telling us the story, we still have the articles from the papers. this video is awesome. Brings back great memories of my dad who passed away in 99.

[AndreRieuFans]

I hope you can download this to keep. Thank God the passengers all survived. An amazing ditching. This, Sully, and those in the book, We thought we heard the angels sing, are the only successful ditchings I know about.

[coastie792]

-cont- It was not that a Coast Guard Cutter happened to be nearby....this was the professional planning and airmanship of an outstanding pilot, and the SAR training and boat handling skills of the CG. Bravo Zulu to all of them, even after all these years. Ms. Ogg...you have every reason to be proud! V/R

[jmarzioli]

Thanks for sharing this. When my mother told me the story, she said the Coast Guard Cutter was nearby because the airplane flying 10 minutes the plane, Richard Ogg was flying with my mother and I onboard, radioed the Coast Guard Cutter nearby. I appreciate hearing how it actually happened.

[coastie792]

Great story and brings back memories of my 32 years in the CG. The CG maintained Ocean Stations in the Atlantic and Pacific, and the Ponch was on Ocean Station November. Ocean Stations were typically a 10 sq mile block of ocean that the cutters would sail in for 28 days. They would broadcast on a frequency that all ships and planes could use as a beacon. When Capt Ogg realized that he could not make the California coast, he was in radio contact with the Ponch and they coordinated the ditching.

[PC3900]

I wonder if a panicky passenger cracked the back door post-landing on this flight, too!

[calla013]

To hear about these stories makes me feel so proud. I wish I could have thanked Captain Ogg.

[ncl387]

CAPT Earle was a great officer and did a superb job rescuing those folks!! Bravo Zulu, Bill Earle!

[Paulosoy]

When I was a kid I saw a movie on t.v. about the Pan Am 943,case, it was black and white, filmed in the 50´s. I have been searching it, anyone knows the name of the movie or where to get it?

[juneogg]

They used to play that video on a show called Disasters How and Why a lot. I tried to buy a copy ( a long time ago)and learned that The Discovery Channel bought the rights. I went round and round with them, at first they would not even sell me a copy. Then it was some ridiculous price that I could not afford. It was a strange experience because it was MY Dad and they didn't give a damn.

[jmarzioli]

Dear June, if your father and the crew hadn't done such a great job, I wouldn't be here today. My mother, who was a professor in the Philippines, decided to return to the US because my father lived in the Bay Area. She told me countless stories about what happened inside the plane and how your father was so calm and how kind the stewardess were. I just saw the YOU-TUBE video and just remain so grateful to your father and the crew for allowing me to be alive.

[Paulosoy]

I believe only two commercial airplanes in history have been able to land in water sucessfully , this one, and Flight 1549 on the Hudson river recently.

[AndreRieuFans]

Thank GOD for the skills of the Pilot and his Crew, and for the US Coast Guard. All Heroes. I am so glad to see this and pray each and everyone felt the Thanks and Blessings of this Nation. Well Done.

[flyingjohn2005]

I fly for Delta. It is my understanding that Maui airport's identifier, OGG is in tribute to the Captain. Neat to see the story.

[juneogg]

When I was little and we flew to Hawaii, I loved having that tag on my suitcase!

[juneogg]

I am proud to say that I am the daughter of Captain Richard Ogg. I am glad that his ditching story has come out again because he was a hero. He was always humble about the ditching and similar to Scully said he was just doing his job. He loved to fly and did not want to retire from his job. He was a great man and father and I miss him a lot. There were numerous magazine and newspaper stories from 1956 if people want to research more.

[jfstriegel]

Your father was, indeed, a great pilot. I read about this event in TIME magazine when we were living in Rangoon, Burma, and I was age 7. I have never, NEVER fogotten it. It probably was one of the earliest influences that led me to become an instrument-rated private seaplane pilot three decades later. Captain Richard Ogg is not forgotten.

[juneogg]

My dad would have been very proud to know that he influenced you in such a way. It is a nice thing to know about your dad as well. Thank you

[jmarzioli]

Hi June, I am wondering if anyone from the plane crew ,passenger list and Coast Guard ship would be interested in having a reunion. It would be interesting to talk about how this experience affected everyone's lives.

[juneogg]

That is a good idea, it would be awesome to meet you and anyone who was there that day. I really wish I could hug my dad again. He passed away awhile ago.

[jmarzioli]

It would have been nice to talk to your dad as well and it would be nice to meet you and the other folks who were a part of this experience. Maybe we can set something up.

[jackyblues]

My dad was one of crew members on the Pontchartrain. And I'm damm proud of him. He was also one of the photographers. This was a miracle that all 31 people survived this terrible crash. The skill of pilot Ogg and the Pontchartrain being at the right place and time made all the difference between life and death. Remember God put the Pontchartrain there for a reason, think about it.

[PatrolmanDark]

I'm pretty sure the Coast Guard put the Pontchartrain there, not anybody's god. If you ask your Dad who the commanding officer was over that section, that'd be the guy who put the Pontchartrain there. Excellent work by everybody!

[jackyblues]

I asked They just happened to be there. by accident. They were on duty to patrol and protect the Hawaiian islands during the Korean conflict.

[PatrolmanDark]

According to the written history, the Coast Guard maintained a ship at Ocean Station November between Hawaii and the California coast, where it served as a communications relay for airplanes crossing the sea. No proof of anything supernatural.

[jackyblues]

There's always got to be one person who likes to be Mr. Negative. Face the facts there were 31 lifes saved including children. This is a lot better ending then most air crashes, That usually end in loss of lifes.

[PatrolmanDark]

I'm being quite positive, where I say "Excellent work by everybody!" I want to be sure that the hard work, great skills, long hours of practice, and dedication to their job that resulted in such a great ending are credited properly, to the men involved, like your Dad.

[jmarzioli]

I am really thankful to each person who photographed this event. Being so young, I don't have a memory of it, bso seeing this video was very carthartic because I got to see what my mother and I went through.

Joanne Jacobe Marzioli

[jmarzioli]

If your dad is still alive, let him know how thankful, I am that he took this video. The first time I saw it was two weeks ago and then all of a sudden, I hear an edited version was on World News with Charlie Gibson. Since I was only 2 1/2 years old, I have no memory of this, but have heard the stories about it all my life.

[luckylare69]

My father Frank Garcia Jr. was the flight engineer on Pan Am 943. I was only 5 years old when he ditched but my earliest memory of this miraculous aviation adventure was the word "Ponchatrain". I did not know what it meant at the time but because of the high praise my father always bestowed on her crew I learned it was a word of honor. My Dad is still alive and his memories of Pan Am and the "ditching" always include his respect for the crew of the Ponchatrain.

[AndreRieuFans]

Please tell your father America is proud of him and remembers. :)

(re Ponchatrain PanAm 943)

[jmarzioli]

Yes, please let your father know how much I appreciate all that. he and the other crew members did. Because of their efforts, I was able to have a great life.

Joanne Jacobe Marzioli

[Blogengezer]

Reading this thread of comments, I see how times and people have changed. so sad. DaFlikkers

[edmundogutierrez79]

Hi, well one of your volunteers here at our hospital was one of the flight attendants who survived Pan Am flight 943 Pat Pimsner. Very sweet lady and i show her this video and you can actually see her on the video. She came out on the SF chronicle recently after the whole Hudson River plane crash. By the way, I'm mexican and educated for those who still think we are not. Educate urself that we are a melting pot and some where back in time your ancestors came from some country for a better

[hyperlilspaz123]

SPACED GURL. idk what twins ur talking about becuase there was only one set of twins on there. elizabeth and maureen elizabeth is my mother so idk wat the hell ur talking about! im not a media whore dont judge me woman! my moms pissed at u for calling me that we juss finished dinner and she was telling me how some idiot was insulting me so f off!

[pinwizz69]

kubricksasshole, got news for U Dickhead! I spent 5.2years in the USCG. and finished with 4 winged Ss,3unit commendations,4rescues,2nite/2­day 2good conducts,expert45marksman M16 and I,ll bet your DumbASS did,nt serve your country so much as 1 day ! I served with many competent women who I new I could count on to be professional and to do thier duty to never let thier fellow Coasties down. I,m sorry your parents were so incompetent raising you to be a complete raciest/sexest jackass!don,t breed!

[kubrickzghost]

Remember that private jet that crashed recently with those rock stars and DJ's on board? That was an inexperienced female pilot that had no clue how to fly a plane. I guess she decided not to take off at the end of the runway, and crashed the jet into the ground. Gotta love affirmative action.

Friends that fly in the military have told me countless stories of female pilots they catch making stupid and lethal mistakes behind the yoke. Good luck, America.

[purline1]

Way to go, America!

[purline1]

That's a super good point! I meant to say "Way to go America back in 1956 when we didn't have uneducated women and black people and the Mexicans!"

[Spacedgurl]

my general thesis is that you are a racist!!

[hyperlilspaz123]

my mother or her twin sister was one of the twin babies. my aunt found this and showed it to me! its amazing my mom and aunt survived on this and there mom and dad and there mom was the woman in there who had the white hair and pushed it back and smiled when she got on the boat! if it wasnt for the bravery of the pilot i wouldnt be here today.

[Spacedgurl]

your so full of crap!! I am the daughter of one of the twins that survived.....and I dont know you!!

How dare you hijack this, you media whore!!

[buckthebuddah]

If mom was one of the twins then I met Gramma and Grampa at one two of our Coast vGuard reunions in Vegas and Reno a few years back along with the flight engineer and stewardessses

[jmarzioli]

Hi There, I'm the other child that was on the plane along with your mother and her twin. I would love to be able to talk to your mom and her twin to see how the plane crash affected them. We all were under the age of 3. Please let your mom and your aunt know that I inquired after them. You can see my mom and myself on the video. I'm the little girl who was lifted up and put my arm around the Coast Guard sailor, then you see me reaching for my mom once I see her.

Joanne Jacobe Marzioli

[Mark7sf]

Pretty amazing.

[pumkinbreath]

those poor caneries!

[jipjob]

During the 60's they still had patrol out in the middle of the ocean between  San Francisco and Hawaii. In fact they had a bowie secured to the bottom of the ocean and we would float around the bowie for 21 days at a time, just waiting for another incident like the one filmed here. Kind of borring but still served a purpose for saving people.

[VJRainbowPuddle]

Yes, a few other nations! Still has zero to do with being American, as you say, any nation with the tech could've done this. Saying, "I'm sure proud of well trained pilots" makes sense. By 1956 there were enough well trained (former war) pilots of many nations flying commercially with the skillset to safely land iin water. They are trained for that. Everywhere! Lucky a cutter was there. Don't need them in MidPac now cause of satellite comms coverage.

[RickyJ46]

Fantastic story. God Bless America.

[VJRainbowPuddle]

HTF does this provide you with pride for being American? I'm proud of humans behind this, nationality unimportant!

[bricology]

"HTF does this provide you with pride for being American?"

Well, how many other cultures on earth had the technological wherewithal to effect this sort of rescue, or the trust in the skill of the professionalism and training of the crew to be able to deal with the crisis? Britain, Germany, a few other nations. When a ferry from (insert name of 2nd or 3rd-world nation here) goes down, do you think that they have this sort of disaster preparedness or calm orderliness to deal with it in this way?

[daychilde]

In fact, I suggest many nations would have this level of expertise. This incident and the recent incident on the Hudson river are two cases where everyone survived the landing, first. *Then* everyone was also rescued. In the ferry incidents you mention, were people on-scene so quickly? And how many people were lost even before rescuers arrived? I'm just suggesting that it's rather more complicated than you're suggesting, and that you're comparing apples to oranges.

[bricology]

I'm not trying to reduce it to a simplistic equation, but I believe that my general thesis is sound. Also, the reason that so many people survived both crashes was due, at least in part, to the craft being so well-designed. A locally-built ferry (much less an aircraft!) in say, the Philippines (I use them because they seem to frequently have fatal ferry disasters), staffed by crew with little (if any) disaster preparedness training, is less likely to survive the crash, much less the aftermath.

[nocknock57]

I could swear I saw Jack, Sawyer, Kate and Hurley on the wing. Couldn't see Sayeed, Lock or Charlie, however...

[1taxworker]

Makes you proud to be an American!!