Airbus Industrie A-300B4-2C accident near Atlantic Ocean, AO, May 28, 1985
On May 28, 1985 at about 5:15 pm local time, a Airbus Industrie A-300B4-2C, registered N206EA, was involved in an accident near Atlantic Ocean, AO. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 2 people were seriously injured and 19 people had minor injuries; 53 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- May 28, 1985 · about 5:15 pm local time
- Place
- Atlantic Ocean, AO
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured and 19 people had minor injuries; 53 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Airbus Industrie A-300B4-2C · all A-300B4-2Cs on the register
- Registration
- N206EA · registry record · serial 066
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ESTABLISHED IN CRUISE FLIGHT CONDITIONS THE COMMERCIAL AIRLINER ENCOUNTERED AN AREA OF FORECAST THUNDERSTORMS. THE CAPTAIN ELECTED TO ATTEMPT TO FLY THROUGH THE AREA. AS THE AIRLINER WAS ATTEMPTING TO AVOID THE THUNDERSTORMS IT ENCOUNTERED ONE RAPID UP AND DOWN DRAFT. THIS CAUSED 2 SERIOUS INJURIES AND 19 MINOR INJURIES. THE FLT CONTINUED ON TO THE DESTINATION AND WAS MET BY MEDICAL PERSONNEL WHO TREATED AND EVACUATED THE INJURIED. VARYING ACCOUNTS WERE RECEIVED FROM PASSENGERS AS TO WETHER OR NOT THE SEAT BELT SIGN WAS ILLUMINATED PRIOR TO ENCOUNTERING THE TURBULENCE, HOWEVER, THE CABIN CREW REPORTED THAT THE LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED AT THE TIME AND A SEAT BELT CHECK HAD BEEN MADE. NEITHERTHE FLT ATTENDANTS NOT THE PASSENGERS REPORTED HEARING A PA ANNOUNCEMENT PRIOR TO THE TURBULENCE. ONE FLT ATTENDANT WAS INFORMED BY THE FLT ENGINEER THAT THEY WERE APPROACHING AN AREA OF ROUGH WX BUT THIS INFO WAS NOT PASSED ONTO THE REMAINING CABIN CREW MEMBERS.
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; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,070 hours in all; 1,530 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 19,437 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, February 4, 1985; 1,010 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 347,225 lb
- Seats: 252
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF-6-50C (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PHL Philadelphia PA at 2:05 pm
- Destination: SJU San Juan PR
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 35,000 ft; scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:51 pm from SJU, 530 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 8 | ||
| Passengers | 2 | 18 | 45 |
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 N206EA 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.