Pan Am plane that crashed 74 years ago found at bottom of Atlantic Ocean

Some 74 years after a Pan American Airways flight crashed into the water off the coast of Puerto Rico, an aviation search team said it found the wreckage sitting on the ocean floor.

The Air/Sea Heritage Foundation and others, including Discovery Channel’s series "Expedition Unknown," found the wreckage of the Pan Am "Clipper Endeavor" at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean off Puerto Rico's northern coast last month, Discovery said on Tuesday.

The Douglas DC-4 aircraft broke into two sections and came to rest after crashing into the ocean shortly after taking off from Puerto Rico on April 11, 1952, with 64 passengers and five crew members on board.

While everyone on board survived the initial impact, only 12 passengers and five crew members were rescued, with the rest being lost with the plane.

The disaster led to sweeping aviation reforms, with the introduction of pre-flight safety briefings and emergency procedure demonstrations.

"We are all stunned and elated by this discovery yet also humbled to remember what happened in that place so long ago," said Russ Matthews, president of the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation.

The search, which involved the Deep Sea Vision company, used high-resolution sonar, with the wreckage being found almost 2,000 feet under the Atlantic Ocean.

The search also involved the use of autonomous underwater drones and ended the mystery of where the aircraft came to rest.

-Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus/Reuters