Boeing 747-100 incident near Georgetown, Gy, September 21, 1988
On September 21, 1988 at about 8:00 am local time, a Boeing 747-100, registered N9674, was involved in an incident near Georgetown. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). 10 people had minor injuries; 221 others were unhurt. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
INCIDENT THAT LED TO THE DEATH OF THE PASSENGER IN ROW #6 WAS APPARENTLY NOT RELATED TO TURBULENCE, BECAUSE THE PASSENGER DIED OF CHOKING TWO HOURS AFTER THE TURBULENCE ENCOUNTER.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 21, 1988 · about 8:00 am local time
- Place
- Georgetown, Guyana
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- 10 people had minor injuries; 221 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 747-100 · all 747-100s on the register
- Registration
- N9674 · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AT APPROXIMATELY 0400 HOURS E.D.T. PAN AMERICAN FLIGHT #201 FROM NEW YORK TO RIO DE JANEIRO ENCOUNTERED TURBULENCE AT FLIGHT LEVEL 370 IN THE VICINITY OF GEORGETOWN, GUYANA. SEVERAL PASSENGERS AT ROW 50 RECEIVED INJURIES. THE FASTEN SEAT BELT SIGN WAS ON AT THE TIME AND THE CAPTAIN HAD ANNOUNCED THE ILLUMINATION OF THE SIGN OVER THE PA SYSTEM.
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
- Flight time: 7 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 775,000 lb
- Seats: 495
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT9D (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: JFK New York NY
- Destination: RIO Rio Dr Janeiro
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
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 | 16 | |||
| Passengers | 10 | 205 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N9674 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.