Boeing 747-245F incident near Caracas, Ve, May 29, 1987
On May 29, 1987, a Boeing 747-245F, registered N813FT, suffered minor damage in an incident near Caracas. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- May 29, 1987
- Place
- Caracas, Venezuela
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-245F · all 747-245Fs on the register
- Registration
- N813FT · no longer on the register · serial 21764
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
FLIGHT EXPERIENCED LEAKAGE OF A FIVE GALLON CONTAINER OF GLUTARALDEHYDE LISTED BY THE SHIPPER AS A CLASS 8 CORROSIVE ON THE AIRCRAFTS UPPER DECK ENROUTE MIAMI, FLORIDA TO CARACAS, VENEZUELA. THE CHEMICAL WAS LATER FOUND NOT TO BE CORROSIVE AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS CLEANED AND RETURNED TO SERVICE.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 19,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 28,466 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 775,000 lb
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT-9D (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MIA Miami FL at 5:26 am
- Destination: VMI Caracas OF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
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.