Cessna 402C accident near Hyannis, Massachusetts, April 12, 1987
On April 12, 1987 at about 3:15 pm local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N87PB, was destroyed in an accident near Hyannis, Massachusetts (Barnstable Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 9 people had minor injuries. 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
- April 12, 1987 · about 3:15 pm local time
- Place
- Hyannis, Massachusetts · Barnstable Muni
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 9 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N87PB · registry record · serial 402C0639
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
SHORTLY AFTER THE INITIAL PWR REDUCTION DRG TKOF, THE PLT NOTED A PARTIAL LOSS OF PWR IN THE RGT ENG. HE SAID HE 'WENT TO FULL POWER ON BOTH ENGINES' & NOTED AN 'EXTREMELY HIGH' FUEL FLOW INDCN TO THE RGT ENG. HE SAID, 'THINKING THAT THE ENGINE WAS FLOODING, I PLACED THE BOOST PUMP SWITCH FROM HIGH TO OFF TO POSSIBLY ELIMINATE THE PROBLEM WITH NO RESULT. ITHEN PLACED THE PUMP BACK TO HIGH AND TRIED TO DECREASE THE FUEL FLOW BY LEANING THE MIXTURE. THIS ALSO DID NOT SEEM TO ELIMINATE THE PROBLEM.' WHILE TROUBLESHOOTING THE PRBLM, HE TURNED TO A DOWNWIND & STAYED IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN, BUT COULD NOT MAINT ALT. SUBSEQUENTLY, A WHEELS-UP LNDG WAS MADE IN AN AREA OF SMALL TREES APRX 1/2 MI BFR REACHING RWY 24. AN EXAM OF THE RGT ENG REVEALED THE SPARK PLUGS WERE WET WITH FUEL & BLACK WITH SOOT. ALSO, ITS #5 FUEL NOZZLE HAD BEEN CROSS-THREADED & WAS KNOCKED OUT OF ITS HOLE DRG IMPACT. DRG AN INITIAL TEST, THE RGT FUEL PRESSURE SENSING SW DID NOT SENSE OPERG PRESSURE (OVR 6 PSI); THIS WOULD HAVE RESULTED IN A HI BOOST/FUEL FLOW COND. LATER, THE SW TESTED OK.
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; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,629 hours in all; 550 in this make and model; 54 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,032 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, April 8, 1987; 22 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,850 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520-VB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HYA at 3:10 pm
- Destination: ACK Nantucket MA
- Runway 24, 5,430 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 12 knots, gusting 17
- Visibility: 11 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 12,000 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:00 pm from HYA, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 8 |
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.