Pan Am Flight 845
Posted: Sun Aug 18, 2019 10:50 am
An acquaintance was on this flight with her family and asked that I take a look at it mundanely.
Takeoff: July 30, 1971, 3:29 PM PDT, San Francisco International Airport
(SFO is 37N37'08", 122W22'30")
The flight from LA to Tokyo stopped over at SFO and, on its departure, struck lighting towers causing "significant damage." They circled over the ocean for three hours dumping fuel, then returned to SFO to land. There were a couple of serious injuries from the first impact and 27 more during evacuation but no fatalities. All 218 people aboard survived. Cause was eventually determined to be pilot error.
I think the best time-place intersection to study is the moment of impact during take-off. That's the actual accident moment and overlaps with the other technique of using a chart for take-off to determine the course of the flight. It's also event for which we have a time and a place.
The incident chart - same as the flight's take-off chart - shows the basics quite well in that it shows error trouble, and a positive outcome. A Mercury-Saturn square (0°09') was near angles, Jupiter had just risen (2°31') and Neptune was about to rise (0°38', essentially exact). One should generally not take off on a flight with a Mercury-Saturn exact square on an angle and Neptune rising
There was also a mundane Moon-Mars square. Nerve-wracking Neptune was mundanely conjunct Jupiter on one side (3°09') and opposite Saturn on the other side (3°40'), being 0°15' from their midpoint.
Year: Capsolar {+2}
Mars sq. Asc 0°50'
Moon & Saturn widely foreground
-- Ma/Sa on meridian 0°22'
Moon-Jupiter sq. 1°20' in mundo
Moon-Neptune sq. 1°57'
Bridge
t Jupiter sq. Capsolar Asc 6/25-8/22
t Mars sq. Capsolar MC 6/16-8/4 (Due to a station, was exact twice.)
Event window: June 25 to August 4
Quarter: Cansolar {+1}
(We mostly see the protective side, though, overall, it's a minor chart. Sun is obviously gov't oversight.)
Sun sq. MC 1°48'
Venus widely foreground
Moon-Jupiter op. 1°39'
Month: Caplunar {+2}
(1st clear sign of distinctly aviation crisis.)
Uranus on MC 0°57'
-- Mercury-Uranus sq. 0°07' PVP [!]
Venus & Pluto widely foreground
Week: Liblunar (Dormant.) Moon-Sun sq. 0°01' in mundo
Week: Canlunar {+2}
Pluto on MC +2°32'
Uranus on MC -3°42'
-- Ur/Pl on MC 0°35'
Moon-Sun conj. 1°40' in mundo
Day: Capsolar Quotidian & Transits {+3}
p MC op. t Saturn 0°02', conj. s Neptune 1°58', sq. t Mercury 0°10'
-- t Mercury-Saturn sq. 0°09'
p Asc conj. t Mars 2°01', sq. s Saturn 1°52'
-----------------------------------
t Jupiter sq. s Asc 0°48'
t Mars sq. s MC 0°47'
(Remember that the Capsolar already had Mars sq. MC 0°50', so this doubled the Mars while adding Jupiter for safety.)
Day: Cansolar Quotidian & Transits {+1}
Both ingress and transiting Mars are on Dsc, but farther than usually counts - one a bit over 2°, one wider. They do, however, still aspect the closely rising Mercury which at least keynotes this as a transportation incident.
p Asc conj. s Mercury 0°55'
---------------------------------
t Sun conj. s Asc 0°15'
Takeoff: July 30, 1971, 3:29 PM PDT, San Francisco International Airport
(SFO is 37N37'08", 122W22'30")
The flight from LA to Tokyo stopped over at SFO and, on its departure, struck lighting towers causing "significant damage." They circled over the ocean for three hours dumping fuel, then returned to SFO to land. There were a couple of serious injuries from the first impact and 27 more during evacuation but no fatalities. All 218 people aboard survived. Cause was eventually determined to be pilot error.
I think the best time-place intersection to study is the moment of impact during take-off. That's the actual accident moment and overlaps with the other technique of using a chart for take-off to determine the course of the flight. It's also event for which we have a time and a place.
The incident chart - same as the flight's take-off chart - shows the basics quite well in that it shows error trouble, and a positive outcome. A Mercury-Saturn square (0°09') was near angles, Jupiter had just risen (2°31') and Neptune was about to rise (0°38', essentially exact). One should generally not take off on a flight with a Mercury-Saturn exact square on an angle and Neptune rising
There was also a mundane Moon-Mars square. Nerve-wracking Neptune was mundanely conjunct Jupiter on one side (3°09') and opposite Saturn on the other side (3°40'), being 0°15' from their midpoint.Year: Capsolar {+2}
Mars sq. Asc 0°50'
Moon & Saturn widely foreground
-- Ma/Sa on meridian 0°22'
Moon-Jupiter sq. 1°20' in mundo
Moon-Neptune sq. 1°57'
Bridge
t Jupiter sq. Capsolar Asc 6/25-8/22
t Mars sq. Capsolar MC 6/16-8/4 (Due to a station, was exact twice.)
Event window: June 25 to August 4
Quarter: Cansolar {+1}
(We mostly see the protective side, though, overall, it's a minor chart. Sun is obviously gov't oversight.)
Sun sq. MC 1°48'
Venus widely foreground
Moon-Jupiter op. 1°39'
Month: Caplunar {+2}
(1st clear sign of distinctly aviation crisis.)
Uranus on MC 0°57'
-- Mercury-Uranus sq. 0°07' PVP [!]
Venus & Pluto widely foreground
Week: Liblunar (Dormant.) Moon-Sun sq. 0°01' in mundo
Week: Canlunar {+2}
Pluto on MC +2°32'
Uranus on MC -3°42'
-- Ur/Pl on MC 0°35'
Moon-Sun conj. 1°40' in mundo
Day: Capsolar Quotidian & Transits {+3}
p MC op. t Saturn 0°02', conj. s Neptune 1°58', sq. t Mercury 0°10'
-- t Mercury-Saturn sq. 0°09'
p Asc conj. t Mars 2°01', sq. s Saturn 1°52'
-----------------------------------
t Jupiter sq. s Asc 0°48'
t Mars sq. s MC 0°47'
(Remember that the Capsolar already had Mars sq. MC 0°50', so this doubled the Mars while adding Jupiter for safety.)
Day: Cansolar Quotidian & Transits {+1}
Both ingress and transiting Mars are on Dsc, but farther than usually counts - one a bit over 2°, one wider. They do, however, still aspect the closely rising Mercury which at least keynotes this as a transportation incident.
p Asc conj. s Mercury 0°55'
---------------------------------
t Sun conj. s Asc 0°15'