Cessna 402C accident near Dorado, Puerto Rico, March 27, 2006
On March 27, 2006 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N223PB, was involved in an accident near Dorado, Puerto Rico. It was flown under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries; 5 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the pilot to use on-board weather radar equipment for weather avoidance and the pilot's continued operation into known adverse weather conditions, resulting in injury to passengers.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 27, 2006 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Dorado, Puerto Rico
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries; 5 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N223PB · registry record · serial 402C0105
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While flying at 5,000 feet in a broken layer with some light rain and turbulence with the autopilot on, the pilot later reported, encountering severe turbulence, which lasted for 1 second. Several passengers hit their heads on the ceiling as a result. She reported avoiding all clouds after that, requested medical assistance, and landed uneventfully. One passenger who was injured reported that the pilot advised them that the flight would be "bumpy" and they needed to keep their seatbelts fastened, which she complied with. At the time of the event she could hear "...something like small pebbles dropping onto the plane. There was mist on the windshield that streamed from the bottom/middle of the windshield to the top." She further stated that after assessing herself, "maybe a minute or two, the pilot turned on a screen that had been blank up to that point." She also reported seeing "...green blobs that came on and off. It reminded me of the radar screen that I have seen on TV." Weather radar images indicate the airplane was near VIP Level 1 to Level 4 radar returns at the time of the occurrence.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,942 hours in all; 973 in this make and model; 264 in the last 90 days; 76 in the last 30 days; 2,585 as pilot in command; 1,346 on instruments
- Last flight review: February 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 26,840 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, March 1, 2006
- Maximum gross weight: 7,210 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Teledyne Continental TSIO-520VB (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Teledyne Continental TSIO520VB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TJMZ Mayaguez PR at 5:17 pm
- Destination: TJSJ San Juan PR
- Flight plan: IFR
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:56 pm from TJSJ, 23 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 2 | 4 |
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 N223PB the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.