Piper PA-23-250 accident near San Juan, Puerto Rico, October 29, 1988
On October 29, 1988 at about 6:40 pm local time, a Piper PA-23-250, registered N5237Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Juan, Puerto Rico (Luis Munoz Marin Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 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 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
- October 29, 1988 · about 6:40 pm local time
- Place
- San Juan, Puerto Rico · Luis Munoz Marin Int'L
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-23-250 · all PA-23-250s on the register
- Registration
- N5237Y · registry record · serial 27-2291
- Damage
- Substantial 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 PILOT NOTED AN EXPLOSION IN THE RIGHT WING DURING ENGINE START. HE STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN 'TOPPED OFF' PRIOR TO THE FLIGHT. RESIDUE OF FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE WING OUTSIDE THE FUEL CELLS AFTER THE EXPLOSION.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,700 hours in all; 40 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,080 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 6, 1988; 14 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-A1D5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: STT St Thomas
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 9,000 ft; scat at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:54 pm from SJU
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.