- Date
- May 23, 1988, 18:44 local (22:44 UTC)
- Place
- Near San Juan, PR
- Injuries
- 286 uninjured
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880523070229I
- Case key
- 32062
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.
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
Pan am flt 217 (Airbus A300, N209PA) was clrd by new york center oceanic ctl area (oca) to proceed south on airway amber 300 at FL 290 over the atlantic ocean. As it was en route, American flt 902 departed san Juan (sju), PR for a northbound flt on the same airway under IFR ctl by sju combined center & radar apch ctl (cerap). On-the-job training was being given to the cerap ctlr. As the ctlr's workload was getting 'busy' with 'a hvy rush hour,' his supvr scanned the bay to determine the traffic (but did not see the flt progress strip for flt 217) & told the trainee to assign flt 902 to FL 290. The trainee coordinated this with oca since it was the wrong drctn for that alt. Oca approved & flt 902 was assigned FL 290. Subsequently, the 2 acft converged & passed each other with an estd 300' lateral sepn. The Near collision occurred in a non-radar environment over the ocean abt 200 mi north of san Juan. The oca ctlr said she was aware both flts would be at the same alt, but approval was based on premise that sju was aware & would provide otr sepn.
Pan am flt 217 (Airbus A300, N209PA) was clrd by new york center oceanic ctl area (oca) to proceed south on airway amber 300 at FL 290 over the atlantic ocean. As it was en route, American flt 902 departed san Juan (sju), PR for a northbound flt on the same airway under IFR ctl by sju combined center & radar apch ctl (cerap). On-the-job training was being given to the cerap ctlr. As the ctlr's workload was getting 'busy' with 'a hvy rush hour,' his supvr scanned the bay to determine the traffic (but did not see the flt progress strip for flt 217) & told the trainee to assign flt 902 to FL 290. The trainee coordinated this with oca since it was the wrong drctn for that alt. Oca approved & flt 902 was assigned FL 290. Subsequently, the 2 acft converged & passed each other with an estd 300' lateral sepn. The Near collision occurred in a non-radar invironment over the ocean abt 200 mi north of san Juan. The oca ctlr said she was aware both flts would be at the same alt, but approval was based on premise that sju was aware & would provide otr sepn.
Aircraft · 2
- Registration
- N209PA
- Reported as
- Airbus Industrie A-300 (A300)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 305
- Engine
- GE CF6-50C2, 50,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- Pan American World Airways
- Registered owner
- Wilmington Trust Company
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- JFK · New York City, NY
- Destination
- SVCS · Crcs,Venezuela, OF
- 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.
- Registration
- N727AA
- Reported as
- Boeing 727
- Category
- Airplane
- Engine
- P&W JT8D, 14,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Operator
- American Airlines
- Registered owner
- American Air Lines
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- SJU · San Juan, PR
- Destination
- PHL · Philadelphia, PA
- 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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N209PA
- Age
- 47
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 9,460 total
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N727AA
- Age
- 51
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Unknown, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 12,700 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 13 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 18,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SJU, 370 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.