Hello

I am a 19 year old sophomore university student attending a university in Northern California studying criminal justice. I have been interested in aviation since I was very young. My uncle is currently a pilot for American Airlines and my grandfather was a pilot in WW2. My grandfather flew for Pan Am as a Boeing 314 Clipper captain. In addition, he was one of the first men to fly a Boeing 747. Unfortunately, his career ended in 1971 as he was the Captain of the Pan Am San Francisco flight 845.

Family members claim that he was not responsible for the accident and that 1. He was told the runway was 1,000 feet longer than it actually was. 2. The engines were underperformed by 200-300 feet & Boeing could not inform the NTSB why. 3. The plane was overloaded for the runway by 11,000lbs. My Grandfather asked SFO about runway length, PanAm and Boeing about weight for runway 1R. They all gave him false information. It shouldn't have been able to take off.

If anyone has studied the accident and has a different opinion about it I would appreciate if you shared your opinion, as I have not discussed the accident with anyone outside my family.

I want to become a commercial airliner pilot and or go into the military and become a fighter pilot. Unfortunately I have only taken 1 introductory private pilots class. I need advice on if you recommend that I transfer to a Aeronautical University, and what are the pros and cons to transferring to one. I currently have a 2.7 GPA at my university and can afford to transfer to an aeronautical university such as embry riddle.

Thanks,

Clipper88.