Nihon YS-11A accident near Honolulu, Hawaii, April 10, 1987
On April 10, 1987 at about 6:06 pm local time, a Nihon YS-11A, registered N118MP, was involved in an accident near Honolulu, Hawaii (Honolulu Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries; 39 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 10, 1987 · about 6:06 pm local time
- Place
- Honolulu, Hawaii · Honolulu Int'L · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries; 39 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Nihon YS-11A
- Registration
- N118MP · no longer on the register · serial 2031
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING THE TAKEOFF GROUND RUN APPROACHING V1/VR, THE #1 ENGINE FIRE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND THE FIRE BELL SOUNDED.THE TAKEOFF WAS ABORTED AND THE ACFT WAS TURNED OFF THE RWY ONTO A TAXIWAY. THE ENGINES WERE SHUTDOWN AND THE CAPTAIN ORDERED A RIGHT SIDE EVACUATION, HOWEVER, THE LEFT SIDE, NOT ORDERED, WAS ALSO UTILIZED. DURING THE EVACUATION ONE PASSENGER WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. INSPECTION REVEALED THAT THE CHAFING ON THE FIRE SENSING ELEMENT OUTER TUBE AGAINST THE ENGINE THERMOCOUPLE FUNCTION BOX CREATED A CHANGE IN CAPACITANCE WITHIN THE ELEMENT SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO ENERGIZE THE FIRE WARNING CIRCUITS. THE WAS NO FIRE. ONE PASSENGER SUFFERED A FRACTURED ANKLE DURING THE EVACTUATION.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,500 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 3,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 40,036 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 22, 1987; 327 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 51,800 lb
- Seats: 60
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls-Royce MK-542-10J (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HNL HI at 8:06 am
- Destination: LIH Lihue HI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 8L, 12,360 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: scat
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:55 am from HNL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 3 | 35 |
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.