It was operated by a Pan Am Boeing 707-321B bearing the registration N417PA and named Clipper Winged Racer.

Evarts's first officer was Lyle C. Havens, 59, from Medford, Oregon, who had 21,575 flight hours, with 9,248 of them on the Boeing 707.

Nevertheless, the crew notified airline officials in New York City about the issue and requested permission to continue the flight, which was granted.

Captain Evarts decided to have the aircraft loaded with additional fuel, expecting a lower flight altitude than usual.

[3] The communication with New York City and the extra refueling delayed the flight past its intended departure time of 20:30 by 90 minutes.

The V speeds were the following:[3] At 9:52 PM the crew contacted air traffic control requesting permission to takeoff from runway 04 instead of 08.

[5] At 10:06 PM, the controller heard a loud sound over the radio, saw flashes on the water, and activated the emergency response.