Boeing 757 accident near Alajuela, Cs, September 29, 1988
On September 29, 1988, a Boeing 757, registered N523EA, was involved in an accident near Alajuela. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 128 people were on board or involved.
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
- September 29, 1988
- Place
- Alajuela, CS
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 128 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Boeing 757 · all 757s on the register
- Registration
- N523EA · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Operator: Eastern Airlines
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 121 |
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.