Cessna 402C accident near Naples, Florida, September 8, 1984
On September 8, 1984 at about 1:10 am local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N89PB, was destroyed in an accident near Naples, Florida (Naples Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed, 2 people were seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 8, 1984 · about 1:10 am local time
- Place
- Naples, Florida · Naples Muni
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed, 2 people were seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N89PB · registry record · serial 402C0650
- 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
SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, BOTH ENGS LOST POWER & A WHEELS UP LANDING WAS MADE IN AN OPEN FIELD. THE ACFT WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT & FIRE. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE ACFT HAD BEEN REFUEL WITH JET-A FUEL RATHER THAN 100 LOW LEAD AVGAS. THE LINEMAN HAD INADVERTENTLY USED THE JET-A FUEL TRUCK WHICH WAS IDENTICAL TO THE AVGAS TRUCK EXCEPT FOR A DECAL, APPX 4' BY 16', WHICH IDENTIFIED THE TYPE OF FUEL. THE LINEMAN STATED THAT HIS TRAINING CONSISTED OF APPX 30 MIN OF READING THE COMPANY MAINTENANCE MANUAL ON HOW TO REFUEL THE DIFFERENT COMPANY ACFT, THEN WAS GIVEN ON-THE-JOB TRAINING FOR A BRIEF TIME. WHEN HE WENT TO REFUEL N89PB PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT FLT, HE WENT TO THE PARKING SPACE WHERE THE AVGAS TRUCK WAS NORMALLY PARKED, BUT ON THAT OCCASION, THE JET-A FUEL TRUCK WAS THERE.
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; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,639 hours in all; 412 in this make and model; 249 in the last 90 days; 1,835 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,495 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 6, 1984; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,850 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-VB (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Provincetown-Boston Airlines
The flight
- Destination: TPA Tampa FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 4, 5,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 020° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Other NTSB records under N89PB the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA84FA251.