Boeing 707-355C incident near Sanford, Florida, November 16, 1988
On November 16, 1988 at about 5:25 pm local time, a Boeing 707-355C, registered N707MB, suffered minor damage in an incident near Sanford, Florida (Sanford airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 12 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
- November 16, 1988 · about 5:25 pm local time
- Place
- Sanford, Florida · Sanford · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 12 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 707-355C · all 707-355Cs on the register
- Registration
- N707MB · registry record · serial 19986
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE NON-TYPE RATED FAA FLIGHT TEST ENGINEER EXECUTED A VISUAL APPROACH AND WAS OBSERVED TO BE ERRATIC AND FLYING AT V-REF WHEN HE CHOPPED THE POWER AT 50 FT AGL AND THE AIRCRAFT LANDED HARD. THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT THEN TOOK CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT AND EXECUTED A GO-AROUND. AFTER FLIGHT TO THE FINAL DESTINATION MINOR DAMAGE WAS FOUND ON POST FLIGHT INSPECTION.
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, 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: 34,000 hours in all; 12,000 in this make and model; 94 in the last 90 days; 58 in the last 30 days; 28,000 as pilot in command; 11,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 39,210 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 6, 1988; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 322,300 lb
- Seats: 39
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT3D-3C (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Nmb, Singapore LTD
The flight
- Departed from: MCO Orlando FL at 3:21 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9, 8,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:54 pm from SFB
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 9 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA89IA035.