Overview
- Searchers located the wreck on June 2, 2026, and the finding was publicly announced Tuesday, ending a multi‑year effort to pinpoint the plane’s exact resting place.
- High‑resolution sonar and an autonomous underwater vehicle found the Douglas DC‑4 about 2,000 feet down, broken into two sections with the winged Pan Am logo and name visible in imagery.
- The aircraft was Pan Am Flight 526A, the Clipper Endeavor, which ditched after losing both right‑side engines shortly after takeoff from San Juan on April 11, 1952; 52 people died and 17 survived.
- The Air/Sea Heritage Foundation led the search beginning in 2019, partnering with Deep Sea Vision and Discovery Channel and using industry‑grade AUVs and a research vessel that scanned the team’s narrowed search box.
- Authorities and search partners are working with Puerto Rican officials to expand legal protections, pursue a memorial, notify families and the two known survivors, and Discovery Channel will feature the discovery in an upcoming episode.