At 9:52 PM the crew contacted air traffic control requesting permission to takeoff from runway 04 instead of 08. Two minutes later, Flight 816 began taxiing. The crew then asked if they could be assigned flight level (FL) 230 () as their cruising altitude, rather than the intended FL 330 (. At 10:04 PM the controller cleared Flight 816 for takeoff, but the crew did not acknowledge this transmission. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the aircraft make a sudden 90 degree turn soon after takeoff, along with a flash from the aircraft. The sole survivor reported a loud cracking sound immediately before the crash. At 10:06 PM, the controller heard a loud sound over the radio, saw flashes on the water, and activated the emergency response. A sea search by naval ships and private craft recovered 12 bodies and one survivor. The rescue teams found two initial survivors; a flight attendant and a passenger. The flight attendant later died of her injuries. The sole survivor of the accident was a passenger, a Canadian citizen. He told investigators that he felt the aircraft was in a dive, took the brace position, and "woke up" in the water. The crash of Flight 816 is the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in French Polynesia. Investigation The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder are believed to have sunk in of water, and were never recovered. It is believed that an instrument failure during the climb out turn may have contributed to the accident. Due to the flight recorders not being found, no official cause was determined. See also List of sole survivors of airline accidents or incidents Other aircraft that crashed shortly after takeoff after pilots lost spatial orientation: Air India Flight 855 Flash Airlines Flight 604 Northeast Airlines Flight 823 South African Airways Flight 228 Viasa Flight 897 References External links Final accident report (Archive) 1973 in French Polynesia Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 707 Airliner accidents and incidents with an unknown cause Aviation accidents and incidents in 1973 Aviation accidents and incidents in French Polynesia 816 Tahiti July 1973 events in Oceania