Consolidated-Vultee PBY-6A accident near Port Isabel, Texas, October 13, 1984
On October 13, 1984 at about 1:03 pm local time, a Consolidated-Vultee PBY-6A, registered N16KL, was destroyed in an accident near Port Isabel, Texas. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 7 people were killed and 3 people were seriously injured. 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
- October 13, 1984 · about 1:03 pm local time
- Place
- Port Isabel, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 7 people were killed and 3 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Consolidated-Vultee PBY-6A
- Registration
- N16KL · no longer on the register · serial 63998
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AERIAL PHOTOS WERE BEING TAKEN OF THE MISHAP ACFT. MISSION CALLED FOR A SIMULATED WATER LNDG (ACTUAL WATER LNDG PROHIBITED) BY FLYING AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO WATER. CO-PLT AT CONTROLS DESCENDED ACFT TO ABOUT 6 FT, THEN GRADUALLY REDUCED CLRNC TO 6-12 INCHES ABOVE WATER, AIRSPD 105 MPH. CO-PLT INADVERTANTLY ALLOWED ACFT TO TOUCH WATER. ON TOUCHDOWN, ACFT DECELERATED VIOLENTLY AND BROKE UP, EJECTING SEVERAL OF THE OCCUPANTS AND COMING TO REST INVERTED. EXAMINATION OF AERIAL PHOTOS SHOWS ACFT HULL AT TOUCHDOWN WAS SLIGHTLY NOSE DOWN VICE NORMAL LNDG ATTITUDE; WATER CONTACT MADE AT LOCATION OF NOSE LNDG GEAR DOORS. PHOTOS SHOW OUTWARD RUPTURING OF FWD HULL STRUCTURE, NOSE GEAR DOORS MISSING. HULL AT REAR OF STEP SHOWED TWO PARALLEL, 3-FT LONG BY 2-IN WIDE, FORE-TO-AFT AND OUTBD-TO-INBD PENETRATIONS. FLOOR OF SHALLOW LAGOON KNOWN TO HAVE SCATTERED DEBRIS FROM PETROLEM EXPLORATIONS; HOWEVER, NO POSITIVE DETERMINATION OF ACFT CONTACT WITH SUBMERGED OBJECT COULD BE MADE.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,695 hours in all; 70 in this make and model; 162 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,457 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 1984
- Maximum gross weight: 17,600 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1830-92 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HRL Harlingen TX at 12:50 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 22,000 ft; not recorded at 22,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:21 pm from BRO, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 2 | ||
| Passengers | 6 | 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.