Piper PA-31-350 accident near Edinburg, Texas, October 16, 1988
On October 16, 1988 at about 9:35 pm local time, a Piper PA-31-350, registered N91BB, was destroyed in an accident near Edinburg, Texas. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved. 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
- October 16, 1988 · about 9:35 pm local time
- Place
- Edinburg, Texas
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31-350 · all PA-31-350s on the register
- Registration
- N91BB · registry record · serial 31-141
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACFT EXPERIENCED A DOUBLE ENG FAILURE. PLT STATED THAT IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LEFT ENG FAILED, IN CLIMB TO CRUISE, THE ACFT ROLLED LEFT, THE STALL WARNING ACTIVATED, AND THE ACFT ENTERED A LEFT SPIRAL. THE RT ENG FAILED DURING THE TWO-TURN SPIRAL. PLT'S ATTEMPTS TO RESTART THE ENGS WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. PLT SUBSEQUENTLY MADE A SUCCESSFUL GEAR UP EMERG LNDG ON A ROAD, HOWEVER, THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED BY POST-CRASH FIRE. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT BOTH ENG FUEL SYSTEMS WERE CONTAMINATED WITH WATER AND DISSOLVED SOLIDS. ACFT HAD JUST BEEN REFUELED AT A FOREIGN AIRPORT.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,925 hours in all; 195 in this make and model; 42 in the last 90 days; 36 in the last 30 days; 2,696 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,373 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 30, 1988; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,500 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Texas Air Charter
The flight
- Departed from: MFE Mcallen TX at 9:16 pm
- Destination: HOU Houston TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 135° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 6 |
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.
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 FTW89FA007.