Pan Am Captain Musick

One of america s most beloved early commercial pilots ed musick was born in st.

Pan am captain musick.

With the easy authority born of a lifetime of study and his outgoing nature john delivered a free flowing and engaging narrative of pan am s beginnings the role of ed musick the challenge of flying the pacific the significance of samoan clipper and the impact of its tragic end. 1894 1938 there were no survivors of the explosion. From the exploratory survey expeditions that paved the way for the first scheduled flights to the midair explosion that took the lives of famed pilot captain musick and his crewmembers this chapter is replete with stories that truly capture the essence of pan am. Maclean flight engineer j w.

Crew of pan am s ill fated samoan clipper captain edwin musick leads four of his six officers ashore in auckland 26 dec 1937. Stickrod flight mechanic j a. Killed along with captain musick were captain cecil g. Edwin charles musick august 13 1894 january 11 1938 in pago pago american samoa was chief pilot for pan american world airways and pioneered many of pan am s transoceanic routes including the famous route across the pacific ocean on the china clipper.

Brooks and radio operator t d. Louis missouri in 1894 and moved to california with his family when he was 9 years old. The flaming aircraft plunged into the sea with the loss of all aboard. Pan am captain edwin musick edwin musick won international fame as the captain of the china clipperon its first scheduled crossing of the pacific in november 1935.

Across the pacific is a 2020 video series from pbs telling the story of pan am. That flight put musick on the cover of time magazine helping to establish him as one of the world s most famous pilots. In part 1 one can catch glimpses of captain edwin musick with his crew. They would be with captain musick on 12 jan 1938 when samoan clipper crashed killing all aboard.

At far left is radio officer thomas findley and beside him flight engineer john stickrod. Captain edwin charles musick chief pilot pan american airways. The film s four main characters airline executive juan trippe pilot charles lindbergh airplane builder igor sikorsky and radio engineer hugo leuteritz struggle to find a place in post world war i aviation. His lifelong obsession with planes and flying began with a trip to the dominguez air races during his second year of high school.

Sellers second officer p s. Noonan gained notoriety the next year when he served as amelia earhart s navigator. Musick was at the controls along with navigator fred noonan. Obviously it was a mixed blessing.

The first pilot hired by pan american airways and the airline s chief pilot musick was involved in every aspect of pan am s flight operations.