The aircraft, a
Douglas DC-4 named "Star of the East", was en route from Madrid to Bermuda with scheduled stops at
Santa Maria Airport in
Vila do Porto in the
Portuguese autonomous region of the
Azores, and
Kindley Field, near
Castle Harbour, Bermuda. It was operated by
Cubana de Aviación, a subsidiary of
Pan American World Airways. Three of the survivors died shortly after being rescued. The accident killed 38 passengers and crew; three passengers and a crew-member survived the crash. Bermuda's Director of Civil Aviation, E. M. Ware, said at the time that the take-off apparently had been normal. It is believed no message came from the plane before it plunged into the sea, probably while still pushing the engines hard to gain altitude. Four survivors were taken to the Kindley base hospital. The cause of the accident was never determined. It remains the worst aviation accident in Bermudian history. ==References==