Casa C-212-200 incident near Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, October 15, 1987
On October 15, 1987 at about 8:50 pm local time, a Casa C-212-200, registered N436CA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Mayaguez, Puerto Rico (Mayaguez airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 16 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
- October 15, 1987 · about 8:50 pm local time
- Place
- Mayaguez, Puerto Rico · Mayaguez
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 16 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Casa C-212-200
- Registration
- N436CA · registry record · serial 287
- 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 COMMUTER FLT WAS TAXIING TO THE GATE, WHEN THE PLT OBSERVED A FIRE WARNING LIGHT FOR THE NO 2 ENG. THE FIRE BOTTLE WAS DISCHARGED & THE FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED. AN EXAM REVEALED THAT A FUEL LINE, P/N 3103385-1, HAD BROKEN AND HAD STARTED A FIRE. AN EXAM OF THE FUEL LINE REVEALED T00L MARKS ON THE LINE. A LABORATORY EXAM REVEALED THE LINE HAD FAILED DUE TO FATIGUE & THE FATIGUE HAD ORIGINATED IN THE AREA OF THE TOOL MARKS. THE TOOL MARKS SUGGESTED THAT A CRESCENT WRENCH OR SIMILAR TOOL HAD BEEN USED TO BEND THE LINE IN ORDER TO ALIGN THE LINE WITH THE ATTACH FITTING. THE COMPANY WAS ADVISED OF THE FINDINGS & A COMPANY DIRECTIVE WAS ISSUED TO DISCONTINUE THE PRACTICE.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,200 hours in all; 1,125 in this make and model; 275 in the last 90 days; 5,010 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,298 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 14,300 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE331-10-511 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Executive Air Charter, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: SJU San Juan PR at 8:05 pm
- Destination: MAZ Mayaguez PR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:00 pm from MAZ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 14 |
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 N436CA 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.