Cessna 172 M accident near San Juan, Puerto Rico, February 19, 1987
On February 19, 1987 at about 9:40 pm local time, a Cessna 172 M, registered N20350, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 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 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
- February 19, 1987 · about 9:40 pm local time
- Place
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 172 M · all 172 Ms on the register
- Registration
- N20350 · no longer on the register · serial 17261213
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE INSTRUCTOR PLT STATED THAT THE FLT WAS OVER SAN JUAN BAY APRX 2.5-3 MILES FROM THE ARPT AT APRX 700 FEET WHEN THE ENG BEGAN TO RUN ROUGH. THE ENG THEN QUIT. HOWEVER IT RESTARTED MOMENTARILY. REALIZING THE FLT WOULD NOT REACH THE ARPT THE ACFT WAS THEN DITCHED IN THE BAY APRX 15 FEET FROM SHORE IN APRX 4-5 FEET OF WATER. POST CRASH EXAMINATION OF THE INTACT FUEL TANKS REVEALED THAT THEY DID NOT CONTAIN ENOUGH FUEL TO SUSTAIN ENGINE OPERATION.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,134 hours in all; 102 in this make and model; 216 in the last 90 days; 1,098 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,066 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 27, 1986; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,300 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-E2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 110° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:52 pm from SJU, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.