- Date
- November 11, 1987, 20:46 local (Nov 12, 1987, 00:46 UTC)
- Place
- Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Ocean)
- Injuries
- 3 serious, 32 minor, 105 uninjured
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N813PAAirbus Industrie A310
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871111067679A
- Case key
- 31994
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 capt said he expected some wx drg the 1st 2 hrs of flt. After lvlg at FL 330, the acft was in clear wx, but lgt turbc contd for a time. After the turbc had stopped & there were no wx rtrns on the radar, the seat belt sign was turned off, although the capt suggested to the pax that they keep their seat belts fastened. About 15 minutes later (aprx 2 hr & 6 min after tkof), the acft enctrd svr clear air turbc (cat) w/o warning. Subsequently, it pitched, the auto-plt disconnected & 35 occupants were injured. Three pax were seriously injured; 25 pax & 7 flt attendants rcvd minor injuries. The flt then diverted to miami where the injured were treated. A wx study showed the turbc was enctrd near the edge of the jet stream where the acft had crossed about 6000' over a cell (or group of cells). Winds at that point were estd to be from 260 deg at about 55 KTS. Moderate to svr turbc was forecast near rain showers &/or tstms.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N813PA
- Reported as
- Airbus Industrie A310
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 449
- Airframe hours
- 763
- Engine
- P&W PW-4152, 52,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Pan American World Airways, doing business as Pan Am
- Registered owner
- Wilmington Trust Co. Trustee
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- JFK · New York, NY
- Destination
- CCS · Crcs,Venezuela, OF
- Flight plan
- IFR
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, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14,233 total · 625 in this make and model · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 260° at 55 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.