Lockheed L188A accident near Boston, Massachusetts, October 9, 1986
On October 9, 1986 at about 5:20 am local time, a Lockheed L188A, registered N342HA, was involved in an accident near Boston, Massachusetts (Logan Airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 3 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 9, 1986 · about 5:20 am local time
- Place
- Boston, Massachusetts · Logan Airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Lockheed L188A
- Registration
- N342HA · registry record · serial 1128
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING ENGINE START NUMBER 4 ENGINE WAS STARTED. THE SIGNAL WAS GIVEN TO THE GROUND CREWMAN TO DISCONNECT THE AIR START UNIT. THE ENGINEER THOUGHT HE HEARD 'START NUMBER 3'. ENGINE NUMBER 4 WAS SHIFTED UP, IT STABILIZED, AND ENGINE NUMBER 3 WAS STARTED. AFTER THE GROUND CREWMAN DISCONNECTED THE AIR START UNIT, HE TURNED AROUND AND WALKED INTO THE PROPELLER OF THE NUMBER 3 ENGINE.
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 sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,426 hours in all; 3,900 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 41,240 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme; 75 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 116,000 lb
- Seats: 102
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Allison 501 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: EWR Newark NJ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
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.