 AOA, BOAC, and Air France all started L-049 operations later that year.Due to requests by the airlines, production ceased in 1946, in favor of a more standard civilian Constellation, which became the L-649 and L-749 respectively.On the evening of June 18, 1947, the Lockheed L-049 Constellation serving Pan Am Flight 121, known as the Clipper Eclipse and crewed by third officer Gene Roddenberry (who went on to create the original Star Trek television series), suffered an engine failure which led to the overheating of the remaining engines until one caught fire, which spread to the aircraft.