- Date
- November 6, 1988, 10:03 local (16:03 UTC)
- Place
- Houston, TX
- Injuries
- 53 uninjured
- Damage
- No damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N386PABoeing 727
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 19, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881106071319I
- Case key
- 22794
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
On this page
Probable cause
Poor planning/decision by the unidentified Cessna pilot by maneuvering in busy airspace near the arsa with no ATC coordination or transponder signal; no traffic advisory being issued by the approach controller; and inadequate visual lookout by the flight crew of the Boeing 727. A contributing factor was the lack of air/ground communication by the unidentified pilot.
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
Drg a gilco one arrival (star), pan American flt 511 was clrd by Houston apch ctl to dscnd & maint 6000'. As flt 511 wasinbound (traveling west) on the star at 6000' & 250 KTS, it converged with a Cessna 172 or 182 about 10 mi east of the arpt. The Cessna was on a wnw course at 6000' near the arpt service area (arsa). As the 2 acft were converging, the flt engineer identified the Cessna ahead & the capt took evasive action by turning left. Flt 511 passed the Cessna with an estimated 100 yds of sepn. The Cessna plt was not in radio communiation with apch ctl, nor was Houston radar rcvg a transponder reply from the Cessna. The upper limit of the arsa was at 4000' MSL. The capt of flt 511 rprtd a near collision to the ctlr. The ctlr acknowledged & advised he was aware of the traffic, but just did not issue an advisory. Radar data verified that the unidentified Cessna had been maneuvering in a busy area about 10 mi east of Houston/hobby arpt (along the gilco one arrival route) with no transponder display.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N386PA
- Reported as
- Boeing 727
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 19973
- Engine
- P&W JT8D, 15,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Pan American World Airways
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- MIA · Miami, FL
- Destination
- HOU · Houston, TX
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- HOU · William P Hobby
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
- 49
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 17,585 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HOU, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.