Piper PA-31-350 accident near San Antonio, Texas, November 15, 1984
On November 15, 1984 at about 12:48 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N333TB, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Antonio, Texas (Unknown airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries; 2 others were unhurt. 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 15, 1984 · about 12:48 pm local time · cases in 1984
- Place
- San Antonio, Texas · Unknown · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries; 2 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N333TB · registry record · serial 31-7552008
- 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
SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF BOTH ENGINES BEGAN TO SURGE. PLT STATED HE DID NOT SWITCH FUEL TANKS DURING EMERG PROCEDURE BECAUSE HE KNEW OUTBOARD TANKS WERE EMPTY. COMPANY POLICY WAS TO CARRY ON 10 GALLONS OF FUEL IN OUTBOARD TANKS. POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED INBOARD TANKS WERE FULL BUT SELECTORS WERE POSITIONED TO OUTBOARD TANKS. PLT STATED SELECTORS WERE NOT CHECKED AFTER TAKEOFF. DURING EMERG PROCEDURES AND SUBSEQUENT LANDING ON A GOLF COURSE PLT DID NOT FEATHER PROPS OR LOWER FLAPS.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,432 hours in all; 54 in this make and model; 147 in the last 90 days; 56 in the last 30 days; 6,729 as pilot in command; 1,187 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,179 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 10, 1984; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Texas National Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: SAT San Antonio TX at 12:37 pm
- Destination: CRP Corpus Christi TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:50 pm from SAT, 3 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 2 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N333TB the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N333TB on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Piper PA-31 Navajo and Chieftain 934 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,840 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540-J2BD 24 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- San Antonio International · departed from
- Corpus Christi International · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Texas 6,244 since 1982 · 1,061 in the last ten years
- Texas 29,985 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N333TB 2 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/FTW85FA052.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.