Pacific American Airlines - Misplaced Pages

Defunct US charter airline

Pacific American Airlines

IATA	ICAO	Call sign
-	-	-

Commenced operations

1976

Ceased operations

1979

Headquarters

Burbank, California, United States

Pacific American Airlines was a United States uncertificated carrier headquartered in Burbank, California. Its predecessor was formed in 1946 as Airplane Charter by Mercer and renamed to Mercer Airlines in 1955. The company was renamed Pacific American in 1976. The airline provided interstate passenger and cargo charter services as well as contract services for the United States Navy in the Pacific area. It has since ceased operations.

Fleet

4 – Douglas DC-6
1 – Lockheed L-188 Electra

Accidents and incidents

On August 4, 1972, a Mercer Airlines Douglas DC-3, registration N31538, suffered an in-flight engine fire shortly after takeoff from Naval Air Station Point Mugu on a repositioning flight to Hollywood-Burbank Airport. The aircraft departed the runway in the emergency landing and was severely damaged by the subsequent fire. All three people on board survived.
On February 8, 1976, Mercer Airlines Flight 901 DC-6 (original prototype YC-112A) N901MA, lost a propeller blade on engine 3 after takeoff from Burbank Airport due to fatigue. The resulting imbalance tore the engine from its mount, and the blade passed through the fuselage and severing pneumatic, hydraulic, and emergency airbrake lines and wiring for propeller controls and some engine instruments. The blade then struck no. 2 engine, disabling its lube oil scavenge pump and causing it to begin filling with oil. The crew attempted to land at Burbank, taking off again after discovering it had no way to stop the aircraft. The captain elected fly to longer, uphill Runway 34L at Van Nuys. The crew put the aircraft down on a golf course after it was unable to make Van Nuys due to loss of power from No. 2 engine, the missing No. 3 engine and drag from drooping landing gear and flaps. The aircraft struck a 24-inch (61 cm) concrete foundation of a partially constructed building, jamming the gear assembly into the cockpit. The three cockpit crew members perished, but two flight attendants and a baggage handler in the cabin survived.