Piper PA-31 accident near Missing Acft, AO, October 20, 1982
On October 20, 1982 at about 4:00 am local time, a Piper PA-31, registered N777AA, was destroyed in an accident near Missing Acft, AO. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 8 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- October 20, 1982 · about 4:00 am local time
- Place
- Missing Acft, AO
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 8 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-31 · all PA-31s on the register
- Registration
- N777AA · no longer on the register · serial 31-668
- 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
THE FLT DEPARTED ANGUILLA AT 0803 AST. AT 0805 THE PLT RADIOED ST. MAARTEN & FILED A VFR FLT PLAN TO ST. THOMAS. THE FLT PLAN SHOWED A DIRECT ROUTE OF FLT AT 4,500 FT MSL WITH A TIME ENROUTE OF 45 MIN. THE FLT FAILED TO ARRIVE AT THE DESTINATION. SEARCH EFFORTS WERE SUSPENDED ON 10/23/82 WITH NEGATIVE RESULTS. PLTS FLYING IN THE AREA ON THE ACCIDENT DATE REPORTED THAT AT 0920 THERE WAS A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDING NW FROM ST. MAARTEN TO THE ANTIGUA AREA. THE LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS HAD A BASE AS LOW AS 1,000 FT WITH CONTINUOUS HEAVY RAIN BELOW. THE ACFT DAMAGE & INJURIES ARE PRESUMED.
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: 6,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,665 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 55 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,500 lb
- Seats: 8
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming TIO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
- Not recorded
- Operator: Carib Air Service, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: Anguilla, B.V.I at 8:03 am
- Destination: St. Thomas, U.S
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 7 |
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.