- Date
- October 16, 1988, 16:35 local (21:35 UTC)
- Place
- Edinburg, TX
- Injuries
- 7 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N91BBPiper PA-31-350
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 24, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881016069759A
- Case key
- 22749
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Acft experienced a double eng failure. Plt stated that immediately after the left eng failed, in climb to cruise, the acft rolled left, the stall warning activated, and the acft entered a left spiral. The rt eng failed during the two-turn spiral. Plt's attempts to restart the engs were unsuccessful. Plt subsequently made a successful gear up emerg lndg on a road, however, the acft was destroyed by post-crash fire. Investigation revealed that both eng fuel systems were contaminated with water and dissolved solids. Acft had just been refueled at a foreign airport.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N91BB
- Reported as
- Piper PA-31-350
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 31-141
- Airframe hours
- 6,373
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-A, 350 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Texas Air Charter
- Registered owner
- James Cosby & William Benson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 30, 1988 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- MFE · Mcallen, TX
- Destination
- HOU · Houston, TX
- Flight plan
- IFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 47
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 2,925 total · 195 in this make and model · 2,696 as pilot in command · 42 in the last 90 days · 36 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 135° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.