Amateur-built DHC-3 accident near San Juan, Puerto Rico, October 29, 1986
On October 29, 1986 at about 5:10 pm local time, a amateur-built DHC-3, registered N778L, was destroyed in an accident near San Juan, Puerto Rico (Isla Grande airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. 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 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 29, 1986 · about 5:10 pm local time
- Place
- San Juan, Puerto Rico · Isla Grande
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built DHC-3
- Registration
- N778L · no longer on the register · serial S5-3245
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WITNESSES STATED THAT THE ACFT USED MOST OF THE RWY TO TAKEOFF, REACHED AN APRX ALTITUDE OF 60 FEET, THEN PULLED UP TO CLEAR AN EMBANKMENT. HOWEVER, THE ACFT STRUCK A TALL PALM TREE & CRASHED BETWEEN 2 ROADS, NEAR AN INTERSECTION, WHERE THE ROADS MERGED. THE CARGO WAS REMOVED FROM THE ACFT & WEIGHED. COMPUTATIONS SHOWED THAT THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE GROSS WEIGHT OF THE ACFT WAS EXCEEDED BY APPROXIMATELY 1928 LBS. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION WAS EVIDENT.
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: 8,000 hours in all; 100 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,290 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 22, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 8,000 lb
- Seats: 16
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 5,317 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 8,000 ft; scat at 1,800 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 77°F (25°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:54 pm from SJU, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.