{"id":26666688,"date":"2026-10-05T10:56:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T08:56:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pan-am-flight-6-1956-pacific-ditching-stratocruiser-all-survived\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T10:56:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T08:56:44","slug":"pan-am-flight-6-1956-pacific-ditching-stratocruiser-all-survived","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pan-am-flight-6-1956-pacific-ditching-stratocruiser-all-survived\/","title":{"rendered":"Pan Am Flight 6: The 1956 Pacific Ditching Where All 31 Survived"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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It was too far from land to make it either way. So for hours, its crew flew circles in the dark above a single Coast Guard ship, waiting for the sun to come up so they could land on the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n<p>At 6:15 a.m. on 16 October 1956, Pan Am Flight 6 touched down on the water beside the cutter <em>Pontchartrain<\/em>. Twenty minutes later the airliner was gone. Every one of the 31 people on board was alive.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Date:<\/strong> 16 October 1956, ditched at 6:15 a.m. local time<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> Boeing 377 Stratocruiser N90943, <em>Clipper Sovereign of the Skies<\/em><\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Route:<\/strong> Honolulu to San Francisco, the last leg of a round-the-world service<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>On board:<\/strong> 24 passengers and 7 crew<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Problem:<\/strong> Failures on engines No. 1 and No. 4; not enough fuel to reach land<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Rescue ship:<\/strong> US Coast Guard cutter <em>Pontchartrain<\/em> at Ocean Station November<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Outcome:<\/strong> All 31 survived; the aircraft sank about 20 minutes after touchdown<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Two engines down over the Pacific<\/h2>\n<p>Flight 6 left Honolulu at 8:26 p.m. on 15 October, bound for San Francisco on the final leg of Pan American's round-the-world service. The aircraft was a <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/boeing-377-stratocruiser-double-deck-lounge\/\">Boeing 377 Stratocruiser<\/a>, the double-deck, four-engine luxury liner of its day, commanded by 43-year-old Captain Richard N. Ogg.<\/p>\n<p>At around 1:20 a.m., the No. 1 engine, the outer engine on the left wing, began to overspeed after a failure in its propeller governor. The crew could not feather the propeller, which meant they could not turn its blades edge-on to the airflow. The engine was eventually lost, but the propeller kept windmilling, acting like a huge air brake on one side of the aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>At 2:45 a.m., the No. 4 engine, outermost on the right wing, began to backfire and could only produce partial power. The crew shut it down. With two engines left, a dead propeller creating enormous drag and the fuel burn climbing, the navigator worked out the bad news: they would run out of fuel roughly 250 miles short of land, whether they pressed on to California or turned back for Hawaii.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FqRAOvz71B0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#666;font-style:italic\">The History Guy tells the story of Pan Am Flight 6, with the US Coast Guard's footage of the ditching.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Ocean Station November<\/h2>\n<p>In 1956, the North Pacific was not entirely empty. The US Coast Guard kept weather ships on permanent station along the transpacific air routes, and one of them, the 255-foot cutter <em>Pontchartrain<\/em> under Commander William K. Earle, was holding Ocean Station November, roughly midway between Hawaii and California.<\/p>\n<p>Ogg turned for the ship. Rather than ditch in the dark, the crew decided to circle overhead, between 2,000 and 5,000 feet, until dawn, when the crew of the cutter and the pilots could see the swell properly. The Coast Guard passed them weather information and ditching advice while the cabin crew prepared 24 passengers, including small children, for a landing on the open ocean.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/pan-am-flight-6-stratocruiser-afloat-pacific.jpg\" alt=\"The ditched Pan Am Boeing 377 Stratocruiser afloat in the Pacific Ocean in October 1956\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Pan Am Flight 6 afloat after the ditching on 16 October 1956, with its tail section already broken away. US Coast Guard photo via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">6:15 a.m.<\/h2>\n<p>At first light, Ogg brought the Stratocruiser down alongside the cutter at about 90 knots. The touchdown was rough. The aircraft swung around, the nose was damaged and the tail broke away, but the fuselage stayed afloat long enough. Passengers and crew climbed out into life rafts, and boats from the <em>Pontchartrain<\/em> picked them up.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fkR4F3_fEUQ\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#666;font-style:italic\">Coast Guard footage of the Pan Am Flight 6 rescue, posted by Ken Laesser.<\/p>\n<p>At 6:35 a.m., twenty minutes after touchdown, <em>Sovereign of the Skies<\/em> sank. The injuries were minor, the worst of them to an 18-month-old girl who was knocked unconscious. All 31 people had survived a night-time double engine failure in the middle of the Pacific.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/pan-am-flight-6-rescue-pontchartrain-1956.jpg\" alt=\"Coast Guard rescue of Pan Am Flight 6 survivors in the Pacific, October 1956\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Life rafts pull away from the sinking Stratocruiser as the Coast Guard takes survivors aboard, 16 October 1956. Photo: William Simpson \/ US Coast Guard, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Why it is still remembered<\/h2>\n<p>Successful ditchings of large airliners in the open ocean are extremely rare. Pan Am Flight 6 worked because almost everything that could go right did: a rescue ship exactly where it needed to be, enough fuel to wait for daylight, a calm and methodical crew, and a cabin team who had people braced and ready. The Coast Guard filmed the whole thing, and the footage has appeared in documentaries ever since.<\/p>\n<p>The parallels with US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River in 2009 are obvious, and Ogg is often mentioned in the same breath as Chesley Sullenberger. The difference is that Ogg had hours to think about it, over a black ocean, with no runway anywhere in sight.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WMk8z3h2QC8\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p style=\"font-size:14px;color:#666;font-style:italic\">The US Coast Guard's own 1956 film of the rescue of Pan Am Flight 6, restored by Periscope Film.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: Wikipedia (Pan Am Flight 6, USCGC Pontchartrain), This Day in Aviation, AvGeekery, The History Guy, US Coast Guard<\/em><\/p>\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What happened to Pan Am Flight 6?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Pan Am Flight 6 was a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser flying from Honolulu to San Francisco that lost power on two of its four engines on the night of 15 to 16 October 1956. Unable to reach land, the crew ditched in the Pacific beside the Coast Guard cutter Pontchartrain at 6:15 a.m., and all 31 people survived.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many people survived Pan Am Flight 6?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">All 31 people on board Pan Am Flight 6 survived: 24 passengers and 7 crew. The injuries were minor, the most serious being an 18-month-old girl who was knocked unconscious. The aircraft itself sank about 20 minutes after touching down on the water.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why did Pan Am Flight 6 have to ditch?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The No. 1 engine failed and its propeller could not be feathered, so it kept windmilling and created heavy drag. The No. 4 engine then lost power and was shut down. With two engines and the extra drag, the navigator calculated the aircraft would run out of fuel about 250 miles before reaching either California or Hawaii.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who was the captain of Pan Am Flight 6?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The captain was Richard N. Ogg, aged 43. His flight crew included First Officer George L. Haaker, Flight Engineer Frank Garcia Jr. and Navigator Richard L. Brown, with purser Patricia Reynolds and stewardesses Katherine Araki and Mary Ellen Daniel in the cabin.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What was Ocean Station November?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Ocean Station November was a fixed position in the Pacific, roughly midway between Hawaii and California, where the US Coast Guard kept a weather ship on station. In October 1956 the cutter Pontchartrain was there, which allowed Pan Am Flight 6 to circle overhead until dawn and ditch right next to it.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Is there film of the Pan Am Flight 6 ditching?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. The US Coast Guard filmed the ditching and rescue from the cutter Pontchartrain and produced an official film about it. The footage has since appeared in many television documentaries and is widely available online.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happened to Pan Am Flight 6?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Pan Am Flight 6 was a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser flying from Honolulu to San Francisco that lost power on two of its four engines on the night of 15 to 16 October 1956. 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The footage has since appeared in many television documentaries and is widely available online.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/boeing-377-stratocruiser-double-deck-lounge\/\">The Airliner With a Cocktail Lounge Downstairs<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/aeroflot-366-tu-124-neva-ditching-1963\/\">Aeroflot 366: The Tu-124 That Ditched in the Neva<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pacific-clipper-round-the-world-1941-1942\/\">The Pan Am Clipper That Flew Home the Long Way<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Share this story In the middle of the night, halfway between Honolulu and San Francisco, the Boeing Stratocruiser Clipper Sovereign of the Skies lost two of its four engines. It was too far from land to make it either way. So for hours, its crew flew circles in the dark above a single Coast Guard [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":26665545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[665,666],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26666688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world","category-history-and-legends"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pan Am Flight 6: The 1956 Ditching All 31 Survived | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 1956 Pan Am Flight 6 lost two engines over the Pacific, circled a Coast Guard cutter until dawn and ditched beside it. 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