739 Aircraft - A constellation similar to Flying Tiger Flight 739 that disappeared during a secret mission somewhere over the Pacific Ocean west of Guam. Photos courtesy of Flickr and Wikipedia Commons
Two identical aircraft in the Flying Tiger Flight Line fleet suffered the tragic fate of one crashing and the other disappearing after departing from the same airport on the same day. Coincidence or conspiracy?
739 Aircraft
On March 14, 1962, Flying Tiger Flight 739 (N6921C) departed Travis Air Force Base at 05:45 GMT and was en route to Clark Air Force Base. The Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation had a crew of 11 on board, 3 South Vietnamese soldiers and 93 highly trained Army Guard specialists. According to the military, they were ordered to relieve Saigon soldiers who were tasked with training Vietnamese troops to fight the Viet Cong guerrillas. As such, the flight was operated by the Military Air Transport Service (MATS). Along the way, we made stops once in Honolulu, once in Wake Island, and finally once in Guam. With nine and a half hours of fuel left, the final overtime was about six hours long. But unfortunately they never saw each other again.
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The Guam Center became concerned when the plane failed to make its scheduled position report at 3:30 p.m. Fortunately they tried to make contact with the aircraft. When the plane also failed to reach its destination, a state of distress ensued and one of the largest search and rescue operations to date began. The search was conducted by the US Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marine Corps and covered more than 200,000 square kilometers. It was empty and until now, almost 60 years later, no sign of flight has been found.
Interestingly, another MATS-operated Super Connie of the Flying Tiger line met with tragedy that day carrying a secret military cargo. Flight 7816 (N6911C), which departed from the same airport at approximately the same time as Flight 739, crashed while attempting an instrument approach to Adak Island, Alaska. Six of the seven crew on board suffered minor injuries and one died after being caught in a fire. The timing of Flight 739's disappearance raised many red flags.
The only potential clue to the destination of Flight 739 was aboard the Liberian tanker SS T L Linzen. There, witnesses saw trails of water vapor dissipating into cumulus layers as they moved westward. Seconds later, they witnessed a large explosion consisting of two waves, followed by two fireballs falling from the sky at different speeds. The ship's radar indicated a target about 17 miles from its current location, or about 500 miles off the coast of Guam. The location matched the approximate flight path of the 739, so search and rescue efforts were focused on the area. Being in the remote Pacific Ocean, it is surprising that anyone witnessed the event.
The idea of Super Connie exploding in mid-flight was too unrealistic for aircraft experts to believe, leading many to conclude that it was sabotage. First, the L-1049H is not known to have any fuel problems or electrical problems near the fuel tank. Also, nothing on board would have been powerful enough to explode. So the theory is that if the plane exploded, it was probably caused by a collision with an external force such as a meteor or, more ominously, a missile. With the United States in the midst of a cold war with Vietnam, proponents of the takedown theory pointed to the Soviet Union as the villain in this scenario.
Airbus A300 739
Assuming the explosions were unrelated, it's also possible the plane was hijacked and the occupants taken hostage. However, the kidnappers likely demanded the men's release at some point, and those demands were never made, or at least never made public. Hijacking theories are common for airplane disappearances, including Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
The most popular theory among bereaved families has always been that the men were part of a military operation gone wrong. This is supported by claims that they left behind important items such as IDs and wedding rings, and that they said goodbye for a long time as if they knew they would never return. Still desperate for answers, some families recently tried to submit their DNA to a military database used to identify bodies found overseas. The government rejected these requests on legal grounds. They also rejected decades-old requests to have the servicemen's names added to the walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, insisting they never served on any war missions.
The crash of Flight 7816 was incredibly tragic, but it also had the potential to be a red herring in the mystery of Flight 739. Investigators concluded that the crash was caused by pilot error. During the ground control approach to Adak Island, the pilots were warned several times that the aircraft was under a glide slope and executed a missed approach. They refused and tried a visual approach instead. His decision caused the aircraft's landing gear to hit a short rock about 300 feet from the runway threshold, resulting in a violent and fiery crash.
The Super Connie crash, which landed in low weather from Anchorage with no ominous evidence, was a case of pilot error. The possible explosion of Flight 739 is a more complicated case. Could a maintenance issue have caused the explosion? Maintenance issues have already been addressed while the plane is in Guam, but explosions due to mechanical problems are rare, but like vandalism, cannot be completely ruled out. Neither option can be completely ignored, but there is no evidence that it ever happened.
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The missile theory is also speculation. If the enemy chose to shoot this plane down, who would do it? The Soviet Union, a Cold War enemy, was the only country capable of shooting down planes at high altitude in the middle of the sea. But why did the Soviets do that? And why in a remote part of the Pacific? There is no clear reason or evidence to support such claims. A more likely explanation is that the ordinance exploded accidentally or as a result of sabotage by an unknown actor aboard a secret military flight.
The truth is that until evidence is found (and that is becoming less likely with each passing year), the reason for the disappearance is unknown, and probably never will be.
In late 2020, the surviving families erected a memorial to the soldiers of Flight 739 in South Portland, Maine. For some, it may not hold the same weight as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, but it will always be a special place to remember their love. The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG or 737 Next G, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines manufactured by Boeing Commercial Aircraft. As a third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it was launched in 1993 and has been in production since 1997.
It has a redesigned wing with a larger surface area, wider wingspan, higher fuel capacity, higher maximum take-off weight (MTOW) and longer range. CFM International CFM56-7 series engine, glass cabin, updated and redesigned interior. The series includes four variants -600/-700/-800/-900 and seats between 108 and 215 people. The 737NG's main competitor is the Airbus A320 family.
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, a total of 7,124 737NG aircraft were ordered, of which 7,099 were delivered, and the rest were ordered for the two -800 and 23 -800A variants. The most requested model was the 737-800, with 4,991 commercial orders, 191 military and 23 corporate orders totaling 5,205. Boeing ceased assembly of the commercial 737NG in 2019 and completed final deliveries in January 2020.
The first 737NG, the 737-700, was launched on December 8, 1996 and made its first flight on February 9, 1997 before being delivered to Southwest Airlines.
Boeing's regular customer United Airlines bought the most technologically advanced Airbus A320 with fly-by-wire control, giving Boeing a slower, shorter-range variant of the 737 Classic.
The first NG was a 737-700 on December 8, 1996. The 2,843rd 737 built, made its first flight on February 9, 1997 with pilots Mike Hewett and K Higgins. The prototype 737-800 was launched on June 30, 1997 and made its first flight on July 31, 1997, piloted by Jim McRoberts and piloted again by Hewett. The new smaller variant, the −600 series, which is identical in size to the −500, was launched in December 1997 and made its first flight on January 22, 1998. Certified by the FAA on August 18, 1998.
Seat Map Delta Air Lines Boeing B737 900er (739)
In 2004, Boeing offered the Short Field Performance package in response to the needs of Gol Transportes Aéreos, which frequently operate from limited airports. Mechanisms improve takeoff and landing performance. Optional packages are available for the 737NG models and standard equipment is available for the 737-900ER.
In July 2008, Boeing proposed new Messier-Bugatti-Dowty carbon brakes on the next-generation 737 to replace steel brakes and reduce weight.
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