Canadair CL-44D4 accident near Miami, Florida, January 19, 1982
On January 19, 1982 at about 1:30 pm local time, a Canadair CL-44D4, registered HCBHS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Miami, Florida (Miami Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved. 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
- January 19, 1982 · about 1:30 pm local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami Intl · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Canadair CL-44D4
- Registration
- HCBHS · no longer on the register · serial 14
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING GEAR RETRACTION, THERE WAS A LOSS OF HYDRAULIC PRESSURE AFTER THE NOSE GEAR CAME UP AND WAS LOCKED, BUT WHILE THE MAIN GEAR WAS IN-TRANSIENT. THE PRESSURE RAISED TO 300 PSI WHEN THE AUXILIARY HYDRAULIC PUMP WAS TURNED ON, BUT DROPPED RAPIDLY BACK TO ZERO. THE LANDING GEAR HANDLE WAS PLACED IN THE DOWN POSITION AND ALL GEAR INDICATORS THEN SHOWED IN-TRANSIENT INDICATIONS. ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO LOWER THE GEAR WITH EMERGENCY AIR, THEN WITH A HAND PUMP, BUT BOTH METHODS FAILED. AFTER DUMPING FUEL, AN APPROACH WAS MADE FOR LANDING. DURING TOUCHDOWN, THE NOSE GEAR LOCKED TO THE DOWN POSITION WHILE THE MAIN GEAR PARTIALLY RETRACTED INTO THE WHEEL WELLS. THE NOSE GEAR HELD THE NOSE OFF OF THE RUNWAY WHILE THE TAIL DRAGGED. AN EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE HYDRAULIC TANK WAS EMPTY. HOWEVER, NO EVIDENCE WAS FOUND OF A RUPTURED LINE OR HYDRAULIC SPILL. AFTER THE PLANE WAS RAISED, THE SOLENOID OPERATED AIR VALVE WOULD RELEASE AIR INTO THE SYSTEM, BUT THE BOGIES FAILED TO ROTATE TO A LANDING POSITION.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 4,000 in this make and model; 240 in the last 90 days; 78 in the last 30 days; 15,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 42,851 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 37 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 200,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Rolls Royce TYNE MK 515 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MIA Miami FL at 6:40 am
- Destination: Managua, Nicara OF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9, 13,002 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 340° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 2,800 ft
- Temperature: 149°F (65°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:43 am from MIA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 4 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.