- Date
- October 28, 1986, 09:15 local (13:15 UTC)
- Place
- St. Croix
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 5 serious, 9 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N604SSGrumman G-73
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19861028052119A
- Case key
- 31729
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
The plts lost aileron control shortly after takeoff while in a left turn. The left turning tendencies of the acft could not be corrected and the acft crash landed in the carribean sea. Post crash inspection of the acft revealed the left aileron control cable was trapped within a bundle of electrical wires and cables. This occurred when an electrical cable from a reverse current relay in the right wing to the main junction box in the left cabin area at the center wing was changed and secured. The aileron cable chafed through the protective cover of the large electrical cable. When contact was made with the metal electrical cable the aileron cable arched at several points and separated at two different points causing a loss of aileron control.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N604SS
- Reported as
- Grumman G-73
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- S-4
- Engine
- P&W R1340-S1H1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Virgin Island Seaplane Shuttle
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- SSB · Christiansted
- Destination
- SPB · St. Thomas
- Flight plan
- Company VFR
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
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 10,340 total · 195 in this make and model · 10,055 as pilot in command · 160 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 80° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- STX, 5 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.