position, climbing above . Pan Am 212 acknowledged. Air traffic control then radioed Flight 663 a similar advisory: at 2 o'clock, five miles away traveling, below Flight 663's position. In reality, the traffic, Pan Am 212, was above Flight 663, descending from . Captain Carson acknowledged that he saw the traffic, that he was beginning to turn into the Dutch seven departure, and signed off, saying, "good night". Flight 663's radioed "good night" at 6:25 p.m. was the last transmission received from the flight. Crash The night of February 8 was dark, with no visible moon or stars and no visible horizon. As the two airliners approached similar positions, their pilots had no points of reference with which to determine the actual separation distance or position. Flight 663's departure turn, and Pan Am's subsequent turn left to its assigned heading, had placed the two aircraft on an apparent collision course. The Boeing rolled right and initiated a descent in an attempt to avoid a collision. In response, Eastern 663 began an extreme right turn to pass safely. The captain of Pan Am 212 later estimated that the two aircraft had passed between of each other, while the first officer estimated that the distance was only . Flight 663 could not recover from its unusually steep bank and plunged into the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean, where it exploded with bright orange flames. The Pan American 707 was the first to relay news of the crash, as it was receiving permission to land. Air Canada Flight 627, which had departed a few minutes before Flight 663, also radioed news of an explosion in the water. After the initial explosion, the wrecked aircraft sank to the bottom in of water. Numerous air crews, including Pan Am 212, Air Canada 627, and Braniff Airlines Flight 5, radioed ATC controllers in the area with news of an explosion. The aircraft broke up upon impact and was destroyed. All five crewmembers and 79 passengers died on impact. Aftermath and investigation Fifteen ships, accompanied by eleven helicopters and numerous rescue divers, converged on the scene of the crash in hopes of rendering aid to survivors. Two hours after the impact, debris began floating up to the surface. By sunrise, seven bodies had been recovered; three more were discovered in the course of the following three days. In locating the wreckage, the United States Navy provided