Airbus Industrie A-300 and Boeing 727 incident near Near San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 23, 1988
On May 23, 1988 at about 10:44 pm local time, 2 aircraft, Airbus Industrie A-300 (N209PA) and Boeing 727 (N727AA), were involved in the same incident near Near San Juan, Puerto Rico. No one was hurt; 286 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
- May 23, 1988 · about 10:44 pm local time
- Place
- Near San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 286 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft 1
- Airbus Industrie A-300 A300 · all A-300s on the register
- Registration
- N209PA · registry record · serial 305
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
- Aircraft 2
- Boeing 727 · all 727s on the register
- Registration
- N727AA · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative for the Airbus Industrie A-300 final · quoted from the NTSB record
PAN AM FLT 217 (AIRBUS A300, N209PA) WAS CLRD BY NEW YORK CENTER OCEANIC CTL AREA (OCA) TO PROCEED SOUTH ON AIRWAY AMBER 300 AT FL 290 OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. AS IT WAS EN ROUTE, AMERICAN FLT 902 DEPARTED SAN JUAN (SJU), PR FOR A NORTHBOUND FLT ON THE SAME AIRWAY UNDER IFR CTL BY SJU COMBINED CENTER & RADAR APCH CTL (CERAP). ON-THE-JOB TRAINING WAS BEING GIVEN TO THE CERAP CTLR. AS THE CTLR'S WORKLOAD WAS GETTING 'BUSY' WITH 'A HVY RUSH HOUR,' HIS SUPVR SCANNED THE BAY TO DETERMINE THE TRAFFIC (BUT DID NOT SEE THE FLT PROGRESS STRIP FOR FLT 217) & TOLD THE TRAINEE TO ASSIGN FLT 902 TO FL 290. THE TRAINEE COORDINATED THIS WITH OCA SINCE IT WAS THE WRONG DRCTN FOR THAT ALT. OCA APPROVED & FLT 902 WAS ASSIGNED FL 290. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE 2 ACFT CONVERGED & PASSED EACH OTHER WITH AN ESTD 300' LATERAL SEPN. THE NEAR COLLISION OCCURRED IN A NON-RADAR INVIRONMENT OVER THE OCEAN ABT 200 MI NORTH OF SAN JUAN. THE OCA CTLR SAID SHE WAS AWARE BOTH FLTS WOULD BE AT THE SAME ALT, BUT APPROVAL WAS BASED ON PREMISE THAT SJU WAS AWARE & WOULD PROVIDE OTR SEPN.
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 NTSB's narrative for the Boeing 727 final · quoted from the NTSB record
PAN AM FLT 217 (AIRBUS A300, N209PA) WAS CLRD BY NEW YORK CENTER OCEANIC CTL AREA (OCA) TO PROCEED SOUTH ON AIRWAY AMBER 300 AT FL 290 OVER THE ATLANTIC OCEAN. AS IT WAS EN ROUTE, AMERICAN FLT 902 DEPARTED SAN JUAN (SJU), PR FOR A NORTHBOUND FLT ON THE SAME AIRWAY UNDER IFR CTL BY SJU COMBINED CENTER & RADAR APCH CTL (CERAP). ON-THE-JOB TRAINING WAS BEING GIVEN TO THE CERAP CTLR. AS THE CTLR'S WORKLOAD WAS GETTING 'BUSY' WITH 'A HVY RUSH HOUR,' HIS SUPVR SCANNED THE BAY TO DETERMINE THE TRAFFIC (BUT DID NOT SEE THE FLT PROGRESS STRIP FOR FLT 217) & TOLD THE TRAINEE TO ASSIGN FLT 902 TO FL 290. THE TRAINEE COORDINATED THIS WITH OCA SINCE IT WAS THE WRONG DRCTN FOR THAT ALT. OCA APPROVED & FLT 902 WAS ASSIGNED FL 290. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE 2 ACFT CONVERGED & PASSED EACH OTHER WITH AN ESTD 300' LATERAL SEPN. THE NEAR COLLISION OCCURRED IN A NON-RADAR ENVIRONMENT OVER THE OCEAN ABT 200 MI NORTH OF SAN JUAN. THE OCA CTLR SAID SHE WAS AWARE BOTH FLTS WOULD BE AT THE SAME ALT, BUT APPROVAL WAS BASED ON PREMISE THAT SJU WAS AWARE & WOULD PROVIDE OTR SEPN.
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 for the Airbus Industrie A-300 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: 9,460 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 302,000 lb
- Seats: 341
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Ge CF6-50C2 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JFK New York City NY at 8:29 pm
- Destination: SVCS Crcs,Venezuela OF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 13 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 18,000 ft; scat at 1,800 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:55 pm from SJU, 370 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 10 | |||
| Passengers | 131 |
The factual record for the Boeing 727 from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 12,700 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Unknown (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 172,000 lb
- Seats: 145
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: American Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: SJU San Juan PR
- Destination: PHL Philadelphia PA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 | |||
| Passengers | 138 |
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 N209PA 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.