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).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 15, 1984 · about 12:48 pm local time
- 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
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW85FA052.