Wreckage of Pan Am plane crash that killed 52 people 74 years ago found after almost a decade-long search

Following an almost decade-long investigation, a search team has found the wreckage of a plane crash that killed 52 people 74 years ago.

The doomed Pan Am flight bound for New York City, crashed after taking off from a Puerto Rican Airport on Good Friday in 1952, with 64 passengers and five crew members aboard.

The largely intact remains of the “Clipper Endeavor” were finally discovered after a seven-year investigation led by the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, which partnered with the Discovery Channel.

The recovery team used cutting-edge sonar technology to locate the Douglas DC-4 aircraft, which is roughly the size of a modern Boeing 737, about 610 metres below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in June.

It was found broken into two sections — with its Pam Am logo still clearly visible.

The plane crash — which happened before flight-attendant safety briefings to passengers were standard — occurred because of a multiple engine failure just 10 minutes after take-off.

While everyone miraculously survived the initial impact, the plane soon began taking on water in the rough seas and panic soon set in.

Lifejackets were available to the passengers but people were reluctant to venture out into the waves and perished as the plane sank within minutes, according to survivors who retold their accounts to investigators at the time.

“This one became a catalyst, and it helped drive safety steps forward of better flotation equipment and the pre-flight briefings,” aviation safety expert John Cox told news agency AP.

“So this is one stepping stone along the path to what we today enjoy as aviation safety. It was a rallying cry at the time,” he continued.

The discovery of this wreck is being touted as offering new hope for families who lost loved ones in other ocean crashes like Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 that disappeared 12 years ago with 269 people aboard.