Cessna 402B incident near St. Thomas, October 28, 1985
On October 28, 1985 at about 2:25 pm local time, a Cessna 402B, registered N98685, suffered minor damage in an incident near St. Thomas (Harry S. Truman airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 8 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
- October 28, 1985 · about 2:25 pm local time
- Place
- St. Thomas · Harry S. Truman
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 8 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402B · all 402Bs on the register
- Registration
- N98685 · no longer on the register · serial 401B1048
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER LANDING THE PILOT MADE A 270 DEGREE LEFT TURN TO ENTERA TAXIWAY. AFTER COMPLETION OF THE TURN THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR BEGAN TO WOBBLE AND THEN COLLAPSED OUTWARDINSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED THAT OF SIX BOLTS WHICH ATTACH THE LEFT GEAR SUPPORT BRACKET TO THE AIRCRAFT STRUCTURE, FIVE WERE MISSING AND THE REMAINING BOLT HAD PULLED LOOSE FROM THE STRUCTURE. THE BOLTS THAT WEAR MISSING WERE NOT RECOVERED.
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 engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,951 hours in all; 31 in this make and model; 31 in the last 90 days; 4,800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,548 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 9, 1985; 63 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO520 E (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: C And M Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: SIG San Juan PR at 1:45 pm
- Destination: STT St. Thomas
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9, 5,358 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:29 pm from STT
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.