Star of the sea
Kayaks by Ron Kip. Honorable mention. It was sunrise on the morning of November 19, 1949. Pan Am flight 121, a brand new, four-engine Boeing Stratocruiser, christened the “Star of the Sea,” had just broken out of the clouds on its way down from 15,000 to 10,000 feet while its crew completed their pre-landing checklist prior to theirSouthern Californiaarrival. This leg of the trip was the highlight for any pilot. They were just beginning to get into radar range of LA, so the crew could rely on visual flight rules and landmarks to assist with the navigation. They had been advised by LAX weather Center that the atmospheric pressure was falling rapidly and to expect strong crosswinds on the decent. The ocean below was dotted with whitecaps, each one going in different directions, running into each other, and then disappearing below the surface. The winds that were buffeting their plane were also lifting the fog from thePalosVerdesPeninsula, a landmark critical for pilots attempting an over-water approach into LA. Their location was just east of theChannel Islands. They were honing in on the beacon at San Nichols. The plan was to then get a visual on the point at Palos Verdes before…
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