Cessna 208 accident near Bulverde, Texas, September 5, 1987
On September 5, 1987 at about 3:45 am local time, a Cessna 208, registered N807LA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bulverde, Texas. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries. 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
- September 5, 1987 · about 3:45 am local time
- Place
- Bulverde, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 208 · all 208s on the register
- Registration
- N807LA · registry record · serial 208A20800026
- 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
AFTER LEVELING AT 5500', THE STANDBY POWER ANNUNCIATOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED, FOLLOWED BY LOSS OF OIL PRESSURE. THE PLT TURNED BACK TOWARD THE ARPT, BUT THERE WAS A PROGRESSIVE LOSS OF ENG POWER & THE PROP WENT TO A FEATHERED PSN. DRG AN EMERG LANDING AT NIGHT, THE ACFT HIT A POWER LINE & TREES, THEN CRASHED. DRG AN ENG TEARDOWN, DISASSEMBLY OF THE REDUCTION GEARBOX SCAVENGE PUMP REVEALED THAT A RETAINING NUT & TANG WASHER (W/I THE SCAVENGE PUMP) HAD BACKED OFF & LODGED BTN THE SPUR GEARS, WHICH RESULTED IN A SHEARED SCAVENGE PUMP DRIVE SHAFT. IN TURN, THIS RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF OIL PRESSURE & ALLOWED THE PROP TO FEATHER.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,100 hours in all; 750 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 2,850 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 222 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, August 17, 1987; 47 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-114 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SAT San Antonio TX at 3:30 am
- Destination: DAL Dallas TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 130° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:55 pm from SAT, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.