Lockheed L-1011 accident near Charleston, South Carolina, November 25, 1983
On November 25, 1983, a Lockheed L-1011, registered CFTNJ, suffered minor damage in an accident near Charleston, South Carolina. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). 5 people were seriously injured and 20 people had minor injuries; 136 others were unhurt. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 25, 1983
- Place
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 5 people were seriously injured and 20 people had minor injuries; 136 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Lockheed L-1011
- Registration
- CFTNJ · no longer on the register · serial 193E1067
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING FLT AT FL350, THE FLTCREW NOTED SOME THUNDERSTORMS IN THE VICINITY OF THEIR ROUTE OF FLT & ADVISED THE ATC CONTROLLER THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE TO DETOUR. AFTER TURNING & CLIMBING TO FL370, THEY NOTED 'MODERATE CHOP TO LIGHT TURBULENCE' & SAW A FLASH OF LIGHTNING TO THE NORTH. THE FLTCREW TURNED ON THE SEATBELT SIGN & ANNOUNCED IN FRENCH & ENGLISH FOR OCCUPANTS TO REMAIN SEATED & FASTEN THEIR SEATBELTS. WHILE FLYING IN 'UPPER CLOUD' ABOUT 20 MI DOWNWIND FROMA LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS, THE ACFT ENCOUNTERED SEVERE TURBULENCE. SOME OCCUPANTS WHO WERE NOT PROPERLY RESTRAINED WERE INJURED & SOME WERE HIT BY LOOSE OBJECTS. SERVICE CARTS AS WELL AS OTHER OBJECTS WERE THROWN ABOUT.
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: airline transport pilot, foreign licence
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 22,900 hours in all; 2,733 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 26,544 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 466,000 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce RB-21-22B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Canada
The flight
- Departed from: Port Of Spain OF at 8:57 pm
- Destination: Toronto,Canada OF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 4 | 10 | |
| Passengers | 4 | 16 | 126 |
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.