Cessna 402B incident near W.Palm Beach, Florida, August 23, 1987
On August 23, 1987 at about 9:42 pm local time, a Cessna 402B, registered N3767C, suffered minor damage in an incident near W.Palm Beach, Florida (West Palm Beach airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 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
- August 23, 1987 · about 9:42 pm local time
- Place
- W.Palm Beach, Florida · West Palm Beach · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402B · all 402Bs on the register
- Registration
- N3767C · registry record · serial 402B0617
- 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
THE LT MAIN GEAR WOULD NOT EXTEND WHEN THE PLT ATTEMPTED TO LOWER THE GEAR & AND THE ACFT WAS LANDED IN THAT CONDITION. AN EXAM OF THE STRUT ASSY REVEALED THAT A BEARING, P/N 5041108-1/2 HAD FAILED PERMITTING THE STRUT TO OVEREXTEND, JAMMING THE GEAR IN THE WHEEL WELL. A REVIEW OF FAILURE RECORDS REVEALED THAT OTHER SIMILIAR ACFT USING THIS BEARING HAD HAD SIMILIAR FAILURES RESULTING IN SIMILIAR ACCIDENTS. THE ACFT MANUFACTURER WAS ADVISED & THEY ISSUED A SERVICE LETTER WHEREBY ALL ACFT USING THIS BEARING SHOULD HAVE THE BEARING INSPECTED EVERY 1000 FLT HRS.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,179 hours in all; 180 in this make and model; 170 in the last 90 days; 1,869 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,970 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 1, 1987; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,300 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-E8 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Chandelle Aviation,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: MYAM Marsh Harbor,Of
- Destination: PBI
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 9L, 7,991 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:47 pm from PBI
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Other NTSB records under N3767C 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.