Amateur-built SD3-60-200 incident near San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 9, 1996
On July 9, 1996 at about 8:05 pm local time, a amateur-built SD3-60-200, registered N384MQ, was involved in an incident near San Juan, Puerto Rico (Luis Munoz Marin Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 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
Fatigue failure of a segment of the elevator trim control cable. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the airplane manufacturer to require a replacement interval of the cables.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 9, 1996 · about 8:05 pm local time
- Place
- San Juan, Puerto Rico · Luis Munoz Marin Int'L
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 12 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SD3-60-200
- Registration
- N384MQ · no longer on the register · serial SH3711
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The first officer was flying the airplane and after takeoff and flap retraction while manually retrimming the airplane, the elevator control system failed. The flight returned and landed uneventfully. Examination of the elevator control system revealed a failed cable segment between fuselage station 74 in the cockpit to fuselage station 310 in the cabin. The cable failed about midpoint between a 45-degree change in direction. Metallurgical examination of the failed cable revealed it failed due to fatigue and wear. The airplane manufacturer requires the cables to be inspected every 4,800 hours but the airplane operator reduced the time interval to 2,400 hours. The cables were last inspected 2,247.5 hours earlier. The airplane manufacturer requires cable replacement only on condition.
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 multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,500 hours in all; 1,404 in this make and model; 218 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 3,600 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 16,554 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, February 24, 1995; 2,248 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 26,453 lb
- Seats: 35
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-65AR (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Executive Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: SJU at 8:00 pm
- Destination: STT St. Thomas
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 14 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:56 pm from SJU
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.
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.