Amateur-built DHC-6-200 accident near Lantana, Florida, April 5, 1999
On April 5, 1999 at about 1:45 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-6-200, registered N838MA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lantana, Florida (Palm Beach Airpark airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 6 people had minor injuries; 4 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to secure the engine oil filler cap during the preflight inspection that resulted the subsequent loss of engine power, and his in-flight decision to attempt a single engine go-around with full wing flaps extended.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 5, 1999 · about 1:45 pm local time
- Place
- Lantana, Florida · Palm Beach Airpark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 6 people had minor injuries; 4 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-6-200
- Registration
- N838MA · registry record · serial 188
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that prior to takeoff, he completed a preflight inspection of the airplane that included checking the engine oil quantity. The line personnel topped off the oil reservoirs, and reportedly secured the engine oil reservoir filler caps. Approximately two minutes into the flight, the right engine oil pressure warning light illuminated. The pilot informed Palm Beach Approach Control of the engine oil pressure problem, shut down the right engine, and returned to Lantana. As the flight approached runway 03, the pilot heard a radio transmission from another airplane taxiing for takeoff. As the pilot continued the approach, with full flaps extended, he elected to go-around 1500 feet from the approach end of the 3000-foot runway. The airplane collided with the ground during the go-around maneuver to runway 15. The wreckage examination also disclosed that the right cowling showed oil streaming back from behind the engine and onto the wing strut. Inspection of the oil filler cap revealed that it had not been properly installed.
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: 8,000 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 90 in the last 30 days; 8,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 16,659 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, April 2, 1999; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 11,579 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT-6-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Carib-Air Cargo INC.,
The flight
- Departed from: LNA at 1:45 pm
- Destination: ISM Kissimmee FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 3, 3,010 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,000 ft; scat at 1,100 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from PBI, 13 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 5 | 4 |
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.