 During this period "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry was a Clipper pilot; he was aboard the "Clipper Eclipse" when it crashed in Syria on June 19, 1947.Air transport's growing importance in the post-war era meant that Pan Am would no longer enjoy the official patronage it had been afforded in pre-war days to prevent the emergence of any meaningful competition, both at home and abroad.Although Pan Am continued to use its political influence to lobby for protection of its position as America's primary international airline, it encountered increasing competition — first from American Export Airlines across the Atlantic to Europe, and subsequently from others including TWA to Europe, Braniff to South America, United to Hawaii and Northwest Orient to East Asia, as well as five potential rivals to Mexico.