Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-31 accident near Cape Canaveral, Florida, October 4, 1990
On October 4, 1990, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-31, registered N8923E, was involved in an accident near Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 1 person was killed, 2 people were seriously injured and 23 people had minor injuries; 71 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF THE CAPTAIN TO FOLLOW PROCEDURES, HIS IMPROPER IN-FLIGHT PLANNING/DECISION BY ALLOWING THE AIRCRAFT TO CONTINUE INTO THE OVERHANG (ANVIL) OF A THUNDERSTORM, FAILURE OF THE PASSENGERS TO ABIDE BY PROCEDURES/INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING USE OF SEAT BELTS, AND FAILURE OF THE FLIGHT ATTENDANTS TO ENFORCE THE USE OF SEATBELTS. THE WEATHER CONDITION (TURBULENCE) WAS A RELATED FACTOR.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 4, 1990
- Place
- Cape Canaveral, Florida
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed, 2 people were seriously injured and 23 people had minor injuries; 71 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-31 · all DC-9-31s on the register
- Registration
- N8923E · no longer on the register · serial DC9-31
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
EASTERN AIRLINE FLT 791 ENCTRD TURBULENCE WHILE EN ROUTE AT 31,000 FT AS IT FLEW THRU THE OVERHANG OF A THUNDERSTORM. FLT THRU OVERHANGS WAS CONTRARY TO THE COMPANY FLT OPNS PROCEDURES. THREE PSGRS RCVD SERIOUS INJURIES & ONE OF THESE (84 YRS OLD) DIED 20 DAYS AFTER THE ACDNT. THE MEDICAL EXAMINER LISTED THE CAUSE OF DEATH AS 'ASPIRATION PNEUMONIA AND PNEUMOTHORAX DUE TO BLUNT TRAUMA DUE TO COMMERCIAL AIRLINE TURBULENCE ENCOUNTER.' CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEATH WAS 'OCCLUSIVE CORONARY ATHEROSCLEROSIS.' ALSO, 23 PSGRS RCVD MINOR INJURIES. ACCORDING TO FLT ATTENDANTS, ALL INJURED PSGRS WERE EITHER STANDING IN THE AISLE OR LAVARATORIES OR IN SEATS WITHOUT BELTS ON. THE SEAT BELT SIGN HAD BEEN ON SINCE DEPARTURE; BEFORE DEPARTURE, FLT ATTENDANTS HAD BRIEFED THE PSGRS TO REMAIN SEATED WITH BELTS ON AT ALL TIMES WHILE THE SEAT BELT LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. FLT ATTENDANTS INDCD THAT THEY HAD NOT ENFORCED THE SEAT BELT INSTRUCTION.
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; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 12,275 hours in all; 597 in this make and model; 188 in the last 90 days; 57 in the last 30 days; 597 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 48,282 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 1, 1990; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 106,000 lb
- Seats: 99
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT8D-7B (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Operator: Eastern Air Lines
The flight
- Departed from: DCA Washington DC at 11:00 pm
- Destination: PBI West Palm Beach FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 100° at 10 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,000 ft; scat at 400 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.10 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 6 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 2 | 23 | 65 |
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.