Boeing 727 N386PA
6 November 1988 · Houston, Texas, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 6 November 1988 at about 16:03 local time, a Boeing 727 registered N386PA was involved in an incident near Houston, Texas, United States. 53 people were on board and nobody was injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 16:03
- Classification
- Incident
- Location
- Houston, Texas, United States
- Nearest airport
- William P Hobby (HOU)
- Coordinates
- 29.6505, -95.2804
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727
- Registration
- N386PA
- Category
- Airplane
- Engines
- 3
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 121: Air Carrier
- Purpose of flight
- Unknown
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Miami → Houston
- Aircraft damage
- Not recorded
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- FTW89IA016
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 |
Probable cause
POOR PLANNING/DECISION BY THE UNIDENTIFIED CESSNA PILOT BY MANEUVERING IN BUSY AIRSPACE NEAR THE ARSA WITH NO ATC COORDINATION OR TRANSPONDER SIGNAL; NO TRAFFIC ADVISORY BEING ISSUED BY THE APPROACH CONTROLLER; AND INADEQUATE VISUAL LOOKOUT BY THE FLIGHT CREW OF THE BOEING 727. A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR WAS THE LACK OF AIR/GROUND COMMUNICATION BY THE UNIDENTIFIED PILOT.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
DRG A GILCO ONE ARRIVAL (STAR), PAN AMERICAN FLT 511 WAS CLRD BY HOUSTON APCH CTL TO DSCND & MAINT 6000'. AS FLT 511 WASINBOUND (TRAVELING WEST) ON THE STAR AT 6000' & 250 KTS, IT CONVERGED WITH A CESSNA 172 OR 182 ABOUT 10 MI EAST OF THE ARPT. THE CESSNA WAS ON A WNW COURSE AT 6000' NEAR THE ARPT SERVICE AREA (ARSA). AS THE 2 ACFT WERE CONVERGING, THE FLT ENGINEER IDENTIFIED THE CESSNA AHEAD & THE CAPT TOOK EVASIVE ACTION BY TURNING LEFT. FLT 511 PASSED THE CESSNA WITH AN ESTIMATED 100 YDS OF SEPN. THE CESSNA PLT WAS NOT IN RADIO COMMUNIATION WITH APCH CTL, NOR WAS HOUSTON RADAR RCVG A TRANSPONDER REPLY FROM THE CESSNA. THE UPPER LIMIT OF THE ARSA WAS AT 4000' MSL. THE CAPT OF FLT 511 RPRTD A NEAR COLLISION TO THE CTLR. THE CTLR ACKNOWLEDGED & ADVISED HE WAS AWARE OF THE TRAFFIC, BUT JUST DID NOT ISSUE AN ADVISORY. RADAR DATA VERIFIED THAT THE UNIDENTIFIED CESSNA HAD BEEN MANEUVERING IN A BUSY AREA ABOUT 10 MI EAST OF HOUSTON/HOBBY ARPT (ALONG THE GILCO ONE ARRIVAL ROUTE) WITH NO TRANSPONDER DISPLAY.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Boeing 727 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Jul 1988 | Boeing 727-100 | Denver, Colorado, United States | Connie Kallitta Services | No injuries | - |
| 17 Oct 1988 | Boeing 727-200 | St. Thomas | American Airlines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 31 Aug 1988 | Boeing 727-232 | Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas, United States | - | Fatal | 14 |
| 26 Dec 1988 | Boeing 727-25 | Morgantown, West Virginia, United States | Eastern Air Lines, Inc. | Minor injuries | - |
| 21 Mar 1988 | Boeing 727-232 | Portland, Oregon, United States | Delta Air Lines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 13 Apr 1988 | Boeing 727-290 | Portland, Oregon, United States | Alaska Airlines, Inc. | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Jan 1988 | Aero Commander 100-180 | Mineola Quitman, Texas, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 16 Jan 1988 | Piper PA-28-235 | Littlefield, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 10 Jan 1988 | McDonnell Douglas DC-10 | Dfw Airport, Texas, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 18 Jan 1988 | Beechcraft V35B | Temple, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 25 Jan 1988 | Bellanca 17-30A | Borger, Texas, United States | J & W Operating Co. | Minor injuries | - |
| 30 Jan 1988 | Cessna 152 | Tomball, Texas, United States | Merri Worth Aviation | Minor injuries | - |