An aviation search team found the wreckage of a Pan American Airways passenger plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Puerto Rico in 1952, ending a 74-year-old mystery and bringing closure to families of those who died.

The Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, working with Deep Sea Vision and Discovery Channel's Expedition Unknown, located the wreckage of the Pan Am "Clipper Endeavor" nearly 2,000 feet (610 meters) below the ocean surface off Puerto Rico's northern coast last month.

The Douglas DC-4 crashed shortly after takeoff from San Juan on April 11, 1952, carrying 64 passengers and five crew members. Although everyone survived the initial impact, only 12 passengers and five crew members were rescued.

Foundation President Russ Matthews said the team confirmed the aircraft's identity after obtaining images showing the Pan American logo and the name "Clipper Endeavor" on the nose.

"We were able to obtain pictures of the Pan American logo and the name Clipper Endeavor on the nose of the airplane," Matthews said. "That told us without the shadow of a doubt that we'd finally found Clipper Endeavor."

The search relied on an autonomous underwater vehicle that mapped the seabed and collected terabytes of data. Matthews said the first indication came when researchers reviewed imagery showing "the wreck laid out on the sea floor like a toy plane on the living room carpet."

The crash prompted major aviation safety reforms, including pre-flight safety briefings and emergency procedure demonstrations.

Matthews said relatives of victims and survivors have contacted the team since the discovery.

"Just telling us what it's meant to their families to know the resting place now and to have peace with it," he said.

He added that advances in underwater search technology could help locate other long-missing aircraft.

"This demonstrates what's possible with this technology," Matthews said. "Even after 74 years, it's possible to find and know the answers."

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

Pan Am plane lost in crash 74 years ago found on ocean floor

VIDEO SHOWS: SOUNDBITES FROM RUSS MATTHEWS, PRESIDENT OF AIR/SEA HERITAGE FOUNDATION, TEAM DISCOVERING PAN AM FLIGHT, PHOTOS OF CLIPPER ENDEAVOR

SHOWS: PUERTO RICO, UNITED STATES (ARCHIVE - JUNE 2, 2026) (WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY - Must credit Discovery Channel. No resale. No archive.)

1. PHOTO OF TAIL OF CLIPPER ENDEAVOR

2. TEAM USING SONAR TECHNOLOGY TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL DEBRIS

3. TEAM POINTING OUT ENGINE AND WING ON COMPUTER

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JULY 23 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT OF AIR/SEA HERITAGE FOUNDATION, RUSS MATTHEWS, SAYING:

"If you're going to make this kind of announcement, you want to be as sure as possible. And so we needed something that told us unequivocally that this was Clipper Endeavor. And in the lead-up, you know, we thought, well, we'll look for some feature that's unique to that type of aircraft, to the Douglas DC-4, or maybe if we're lucky, we'll get a trace of the registration number you know, from the gear door or the tail. What we weren't prepared for, what we weren't prepared for, or really dared to dream of, was that we would see it actually spelled out for us. And that's exactly what happened. We were able to obtain pictures of the Pan American logo and the name Clipper Endeavor on the nose of the airplane. That made it real. I mean, we'd been looking at old black-and-white photographs and, you know, dozens, hundreds of times and read that name and imagined what it would be like. But there it was in full color and, and told us without the shadow of a doubt that we'd finally found Clipper Endeavor."

PUERTO RICO UNITED STATES (ARCHIVE - JUNE 2, 2026) (WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY - Must credit Discovery Channel. No resale. No archive.)

5. SONAR TECHNOLOGY SHOWING ENGINE OF CLIPPER ENDEAVOR

6. SONAR TECHNOLOGY SHOWING LANDING GEAR.

7. PHOTO OF CLIPPER ENDEAVOR

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JULY 23, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

8. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT OF AIR/SEA HERITAGE FOUNDATION, RUSS MATTHEWS, SAYING:

"For this mission, the technology we were relying on was an autonomous underwater vehicle, or an AUV, which is basically an underwater drone that can be programmed. It swims down by itself, images the seabed in kind of orderly rows and comes back filled with data, in this case, you know, terabytes worth of it. And you get to bring it on board, you bring it back on board the ship and review it. And that was where, you know, we made the initial discovery was to see the image of the wreck laid out on the sea floor like a toy plane on the living room carpet."

PUERTO RICO UNITED STATES (ARCHIVE - JUNE 2, 2026) (WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY - Must credit Discovery Channel. No resale. No archive.)

9. SONAR TECHNOLOGY EXAMINING OCEAN FLOOR

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JULY 23 2026) (REUTERS - Access all)

10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT OF AIR/SEA HERITAGE FOUNDATION, RUSS MATTHEWS, SAYING:

"You know, we've gotten a lot of outreach on the website and in social media. From people, the families of the survivors and most especially the ones who are lost and just telling us, you know, what it's meant to their families to know, to know the resting place now and to have peace with it. And it's just been the most moving and impactful experience for the entire team to hear from them and to know what a difference it's made for them and their loved ones."

PUERTO RICO, UNITED STATES (ARCHIVE - JUNE 2, 2026) (WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY - Must credit Discovery Channel. No resale. No archive.)

11. TEAM POINTING OUT AIRCRAFT WINDOWS AND PAINT

12. TEAM IDENTIFYING THE WRITING OF THE NAME OF THE PLANE

WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JULY 23, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY -

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PRESIDENT OF AIR/SEA HERITAGE FOUNDATION, RUSS MATTHEWS, SAYING:

"This demonstrates what's possible with this technology, that the evidence is still there, the traces can be found. And, and, you know, even after 74 years, it's possible to find and know the answers. So for everyone who's still missing, the, you know, Flight 2501 in the Great Lakes, MH370, you know, any number of lost aircraft can still be found."

PUERTO RICO, UNITED STATES (ARCHIVE - JUNE 2, 2026) (WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY - Must credit Discovery Channel. No resale. No archive.)

14. TEAM POINTING OUT PAN AM LOGO

15. PHOTO OF PAN AM LOGO