Airbus Industrie A310 accident near Atlantic Ocean, AO, November 12, 1987
On November 12, 1987, a Airbus Industrie A310, registered N813PA, suffered minor damage in an accident near Atlantic Ocean, AO. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 3 people were seriously injured and 32 people had minor injuries; 105 others were unhurt. 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
- November 12, 1987
- Place
- Atlantic Ocean, AO
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were seriously injured and 32 people had minor injuries; 105 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Airbus Industrie A310
- Registration
- N813PA · registry record · serial 449
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE CAPT SAID HE EXPECTED SOME WX DRG THE 1ST 2 HRS OF FLT. AFTER LVLG AT FL 330, THE ACFT WAS IN CLEAR WX, BUT LGT TURBC CONTD FOR A TIME. AFTER THE TURBC HAD STOPPED & THERE WERE NO WX RTRNS ON THE RADAR, THE SEAT BELT SIGN WAS TURNED OFF, ALTHOUGH THE CAPT SUGGESTED TO THE PAX THAT THEY KEEP THEIR SEAT BELTS FASTENED. ABOUT 15 MINUTES LATER (APRX 2 HR & 6 MIN AFTER TKOF), THE ACFT ENCTRD SVR CLEAR AIR TURBC (CAT) W/O WARNING. SUBSEQUENTLY, IT PITCHED, THE AUTO-PLT DISCONNECTED & 35 OCCUPANTS WERE INJURED. THREE PAX WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED; 25 PAX & 7 FLT ATTENDANTS RCVD MINOR INJURIES. THE FLT THEN DIVERTED TO MIAMI WHERE THE INJURED WERE TREATED. A WX STUDY SHOWED THE TURBC WAS ENCTRD NEAR THE EDGE OF THE JET STREAM WHERE THE ACFT HAD CROSSED ABOUT 6000' OVER A CELL (OR GROUP OF CELLS). WINDS AT THAT POINT WERE ESTD TO BE FROM 260 DEG AT ABOUT 55 KTS. MODERATE TO SVR TURBC WAS FORECAST NEAR RAIN SHOWERS &/OR TSTMS.
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; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,233 hours in all; 625 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 763 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 330,693 lb
- Seats: 280
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PW-4152 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JFK New York NY at 10:40 pm
- Destination: CCS Crcs,Venezuela OF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 260° at 55 knots
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | 3 | ||
| Passengers | 3 | 25 | 102 |
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.