Boeing 727 incident near Houston, Texas, November 6, 1988
On November 6, 1988 at about 4:03 pm local time, a Boeing 727, registered N386PA, was involved in an incident near Houston, Texas (William P Hobby airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 53 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
POOR PLANNING/DECISION BY THE UNIDENTIFIED CESSNA PILOT BY MANEUVERING IN BUSY AIRSPACE NEAR THE ARSA WITH NO ATC COORDINATION OR TRANSPONDER SIGNAL; NO TRAFFIC ADVISORY BEING ISSUED BY THE APPROACH CONTROLLER; AND INADEQUATE VISUAL LOOKOUT BY THE FLIGHT CREW OF THE BOEING 727. A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR WAS THE LACK OF AIR/GROUND COMMUNICATION BY THE UNIDENTIFIED PILOT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 6, 1988 · about 4:03 pm local time
- Place
- Houston, Texas · William P Hobby · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 53 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 727 · all 727s on the register
- Registration
- N386PA · registry record · serial 19973
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG A GILCO ONE ARRIVAL (STAR), PAN AMERICAN FLT 511 WAS CLRD BY HOUSTON APCH CTL TO DSCND & MAINT 6000'. AS FLT 511 WASINBOUND (TRAVELING WEST) ON THE STAR AT 6000' & 250 KTS, IT CONVERGED WITH A CESSNA 172 OR 182 ABOUT 10 MI EAST OF THE ARPT. THE CESSNA WAS ON A WNW COURSE AT 6000' NEAR THE ARPT SERVICE AREA (ARSA). AS THE 2 ACFT WERE CONVERGING, THE FLT ENGINEER IDENTIFIED THE CESSNA AHEAD & THE CAPT TOOK EVASIVE ACTION BY TURNING LEFT. FLT 511 PASSED THE CESSNA WITH AN ESTIMATED 100 YDS OF SEPN. THE CESSNA PLT WAS NOT IN RADIO COMMUNIATION WITH APCH CTL, NOR WAS HOUSTON RADAR RCVG A TRANSPONDER REPLY FROM THE CESSNA. THE UPPER LIMIT OF THE ARSA WAS AT 4000' MSL. THE CAPT OF FLT 511 RPRTD A NEAR COLLISION TO THE CTLR. THE CTLR ACKNOWLEDGED & ADVISED HE WAS AWARE OF THE TRAFFIC, BUT JUST DID NOT ISSUE AN ADVISORY. RADAR DATA VERIFIED THAT THE UNIDENTIFIED CESSNA HAD BEEN MANEUVERING IN A BUSY AREA ABOUT 10 MI EAST OF HOUSTON/HOBBY ARPT (ALONG THE GILCO ONE ARRIVAL ROUTE) WITH NO TRANSPONDER DISPLAY.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 17,585 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 191,500 lb
- Seats: 134
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MIA Miami FL
- Destination: HOU Houston TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:52 pm from HOU, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 47 |
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.