In the early 20th century , Mayadin was the administrative seat of the Asharah '' kaza '' ( subdistrict ) of the Sanjak of Zor district and contained the residence of its '' qaimmaqam '' ( governor ) . In a British military intelligence report from the 1900s , the town had a population of 2,000 mostly Sunni Muslims and a small minority of Christians . There was a bazaar , several shops and a mosque with a leaning minaret . According to Czech explorer Alois Musil , who visited in 1912 , Mayadin had a garrison of twelve gendarmes , ten policemen and ten mule riders . There was a boys ' primary school in the town . The population was about 2,500 , consisting of roughly four hundred Muslim families , fifteen Syriac Orthodox families ( mostly refugees from Mardin ) , and three Jewish families , living in a total of 380 houses . On June 19 , 1947 , Pan Am Flight 121 , crewed by third officer Gene Roddenberry ( who went on to create the original '' Star Trek '' television series ) , crashed 4 miles ( 6.4 km ) from the town
Pan Am Flight 121
Pan Am Flight 121
Mayadin