Cessna 208B accident near Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, December 23, 1999
On December 23, 1999 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Cessna 208B, registered N1315A, was destroyed in an accident near Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot continued flight into adverse weather conditions that included low ceiling and turbulence. Factors to the accident were trees.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 23, 1999 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208B · all 208Bs on the register
- Registration
- N1315A · no longer on the register · serial 208-0655
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While en route to the first schedule stop, the pilot heard a radio transmission that weather conditions in the vicinity of his next destination were 'bad.' Upon arriving, the pilot attempted to telephone Flight Service for a weather briefing and to file a flight plan. After efforts to contact Flight Service failed, the pilot elected to takeoff without a filing a flight plan. A few minutes into the flight, the pilot decided to return to the departure airport after the flight encountered deteriorating weather conditions that included heavy turbulence, and low ceilings. The airplane collided with trees as the pilot maneuvered the airplane. The post-accident examination of the airplane failed to disclose a mechanical malfunction or a component failure. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane. A review of the en route flight charts disclosed that the terrain elevation at the departure point was approximately 24 feet. The terrain elevation at the approximate location of the accident site was 2,500 feet.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,985 hours in all; 550 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,427 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, December 2, 1999; 1,343 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: M&N Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: PSE Ponce PR at 7:32 pm
- Destination: BQN Aguadzilla PR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:48 pm from PSE, 30 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.