On this day in aviation history, December 20, 1957, the first production Boeing 707 made its maiden flight over Seattle. The 707 would revolutionize the airline industry and become one of the most successful jet airliners in aviation history, helping make overseas transit faster and more affordable to the general public.
When most people think of the prototype of the Boeing 707, they will think of the Boing 367-80, N70700, which was popularly known as the “Dash 80”, but this was an earlier development first flown in 1954 to be a proof-of-concept demonstrator for the capabilities of jet transports, with Boeing test pilot Alvin “Tex” Johnston famously performing barrel rolls in the aircraft over the 1955 Seafair in Seattle. But the 367-80 would lead to the development of the Boeing 707 airliner.
In its current form, the Dash 80’s 132 in wide fuselage allowed for four-abreast (two-plus-two) seating as seen on the piston-engine Boeing 377 Stratocruiser. With civilian and military customers seeking more payload capacity, the fuselage was widened to 144 inches for five-abreast seating, but Boeing’s main rival in the airline industry, Douglas Aircraft, promised six-abreast seating for their upcoming DC-8 jetliner which was to have a fuselage width of 147 in. To compete with the as-yet untested DC-8, the 707’s fuselage was widened for a final time to come up to 148 in, with room for six-abreast seating. In October 1955, Boeing secured an order for twenty 707s from Pan American World Airways (Pan Am), which was to become the type’s launch customer.
On October 28, 1957, the first production Boeing 707 jet-powered commercial airliner, serial number 17586 (Line Number 1), was rolled out at the Boeing aircraft assembly plant at Renton, Washington. Being part of the initial order for Pan Am, s/n 17586 was assigned the registration number N708PA.
Just under two months later, on December 20, 1957, Boeing’s chief test pilot “Tex” Johnston sat in the left-hand seat of N708PA’s cockpit, with copilot James R. Gannet in the right-hand seat and flight engineer Tom Layne at his station behind them in the cockpit as the plane stood ready at Renton. At 12:30pm PST, N708PA took off on the Boeing 707’s first flight. However, poor weather soon set in, and they landed just 7 minutes later at Boeing Field, Seattle. As the weather improved later that day, they made a second flight, and were in the air for 1 hour, 11 minutes.
N708PA was initially used for flight testing by Boeing, but once this was completed, it was prepared for commercial service and on November 30, 1958, it was delivered to Pan American at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). From its time operating flying boats during the 1930s, Pan American had named their planes for the Clipper sailing ships that broke records in the 19th century as they sailed people and cargo around the world. Now, Pan Am named N708PA Clipper Constitution.
N708PA would remain in service as Clipper Constitution until September 17, 1965. On that day, it was operating as Pan Am Flight 292, taking off from Le Lamentin Airport (now Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport) at Fort-de-France, Martinique, bound for New York City via stopovers at Coolidge International Airport (now V.C. Bird International Airport) in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, and Isla Verde International Airport (now Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport), in San Juan, Puerto Rico. With 21 passengers and nine crew members, it was flying with a total of 30 souls onboard. After departing from Le Lamentin at 11:04 local time, the crew of Flight 292 established contact with Coolidge, and received clearance to land under IFR conditions on account of stormy weather. N708PA was seen flying along the coastline of the island of Montserrat with landing gear extended and flaps partially deployed. Shortly afterwards, however, the plane flew into Chances Peak at an altitude of 2,760 ft, more than two thousand feet below Chances Peak’s 3,002 ft summit. There were no survivors. A subsequent investigation determined that the flight crew had been unsure of their position and unknowingly descended below the safe minimum altitude.
While N708PA’s career may have ended in tragedy, the fleet of Boeing 707s would carry on well into the start of the 21st century, but not before inaugurating a line of some of the world’s most successful family of airliners, including the Boeing 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, and 787 Dreamliner, which continue to fly passengers and cargo around the world, operating out of all six populated continents, and these airplanes will likely carry us to our destinations for generations to come. Today in Aviation History is a series highlighting the achievements, innovations, and milestones that have shaped the skies. All the previous anniversaries are available HERERelated Articles
Raised in Fullerton, California, Adam has earned a bachelor's degree in history and is now pursuing his master's in the same field. Fascinated by aviation history from a young age, he has visited numerous air museums across the United States, including the National Air and Space Museum and the San Diego Air and Space Museum. He volunteers at the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino as a docent and researcher, gaining hands-on experience with aircraft maintenance. Known for his encyclopedic knowledge of aviation history, he is particularly interested in the stories of individual aircraft and their postwar journeys. Active in online aviation communities, he shares his work widely and seeks further opportunities in the field.
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