Embraer EMB-110P1 accident near Jacksonville, Florida, December 6, 1984
On December 6, 1984 at about 11:14 pm local time, a Embraer EMB-110P1, registered N96PB, was destroyed in an accident near Jacksonville, Florida (Jacksonville Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 13 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- December 6, 1984 · about 11:14 pm local time
- Place
- Jacksonville, Florida · Jacksonville Int'L
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 13 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Embraer EMB-110P1 · all EMB-110P1s on the register
- Registration
- N96PB · registry record · serial MC110365
- 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
PROVINCETOWN-BOSTON AIRLINES FLT 1039, AN EMBRAER EMB-110P1, WAS CLEARED TO TAKEOFF ON RWY 31 AT 1812 EST. DRG THE INITIAL CLIMB NR THE DEPARTURE END OF THE RWY, THE CAPT ROUTINELY ACKNOWLEDGED AN INSTRN TO CONTACT DEP CONTROL (CTL). SHORTLY THEREAFTER, THE ACFT ENTERED A STEEP DSCNT & CRASHED IN AN INVERTED, NOSE DWN ATTITUDE, THEN BURNED. AN INVESTI-GATION REVEALED THE ELEVATOR (ELEV) & HORIZONTAL STABILIZER (STAB) HAD SEPARATED IN FLT. THE STAB WAS FND ABOUT 1100 FT FM THE MAIN WRECKAGE. THE ELEV TRIM WAS FND IN A PSN TO TRIM THE ACFT FULL NOSE DWN. THERE WAS EVIDENCE OF A MALFUNCTIONOF THE ELEV CTL SYS OR ELEV TRIM SYS, WHICH RESULTED IN A PITCH CTL PROBLEM; THEN REACTION OF THE FLTCREW TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM OVERSTRESSED THE LEFT ELEV CTL ROD. ALSO, THERE WAS EVIDENCE THAT THIS RESULTED IN AN ASYMMETRICAL ELEV DEFLECTION & OVERSTRESS FAILURE OF THE STAB ATTACHMENT STRUCTURE. HOWEVER, THE SAFETY BOARD WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE PRECISE PROBLEM WITH THE PITCH CTL SYS.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,000 hours in all; 400 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 6, 1984; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 13,007 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-34 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Provincetown-Boston Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: JAX Jacksonville FL
- Destination: TPA Tampa FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31, 7,700 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 310° at 8 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 46°F (8°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:19 pm from JAX, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 11 |
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.