Douglas DC3A incident near Naples, Florida, December 28, 1984
On December 28, 1984 at about 2:15 am local time, a Douglas DC3A, registered N139PB, was involved in an incident near Naples, Florida (Ft Meyers airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 7 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 incident. 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
- December 28, 1984 · about 2:15 am local time
- Place
- Naples, Florida · Ft Meyers
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Douglas DC3A · all DC3As on the register
- Registration
- N139PB · no longer on the register · serial 2239
- Damage
- Not recorded
- 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, THE AIRCREW NOTED THAT THE ELEVATOR CONTROL WAS LOCKED. THEY DECLARED AN EMERGENCY & LANDED WITHOUT CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE ACFT. AFTER LANDING, THE ELEVATOR EXTERNAL GUST LOCK WAS FOUND STILL INSTALLED.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,800 hours in all; 4,350 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,653 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 17 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 25,200 lb
- Seats: 34
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W R-1830-92 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Provincetown-Boston Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: APF Naples FL at 2:15 am
- Destination: TPA Tampa FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 060° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:45 am from RSW, 22 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
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.