Partenavia P-68C accident near Duncan Town, Bf, August 19, 1988
On August 19, 1988 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Partenavia P-68C, registered N39272, was destroyed in an accident near Duncan Town. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). 6 people were killed. 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
- August 19, 1988 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Duncan Town, Burkina Faso
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 6 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Partenavia P-68C
- Registration
- N39272 · no longer on the register · serial 283
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED IN THE OCEAN NR DUNCAN TOWN, BAHAMAS. THE WX ACCORDING TO WITNESSES WAS VMC. THE FLT HAD BEEN AIRBORNE ENROUTE FROM NASSAU FOR ABOUT 1 HR AND 20 MINUTES. WITNESSES ON A NEARBY BOAT SAID THE ACFT WAS FLYING IN A SLIGHT LEFT BANK WHEN THE LEFT WING SEPARATED FROM THE ACFT. THE ACFT ROLLED TO THE LEFT AND IMPACTED THE WATER. THE WRECKAGE SANK WHERE THE WATER WAS ABOUT 50 FT DEEP. THE LEFT OUTBOARD WING PANEL WAS RECOVERED AND EXAMINED AT THE NTSB LAB. ALL FRACTURES WERE FOUND TO BE FROM OVERSTRESS. NO PREEXISTING CRACKS WERE FOUND AND NO EVIDENCE OF FATIGUE OR FAILURE FROM CORROSION. THE WING TIP HAD CRUSHING DAMAGE AND A BLUE PAINT TRANSFER AS IF FROM A COLLISION. THE PARTLY BLUE VERTICAL STAB WAS DAMAGED FROM THE SEPARATED WING SECT STRIKING IT. THE WX REPORTED EN ROUTE WAS: BROKEN TO OVERCAST WITH RAIN SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS. EXAM OF THE LATER RECOVERED INBOARD LEFT WING SECTION SHOWED SEPARATION OF THE OUTBOARD WING SECTION RESULTED FROM OVERSTRESS.
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: 275 hours in all; 35 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (invalid medical for flight)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 4,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-C1A6D (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: M D Air Services, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MYNN Nassau OF at 6:12 pm
- Destination: Duncan Town OF
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.