MIA88IA176

NTSB incident investigation · Airbus Industrie A-300 · Near San Juan, PR · May 23, 1988

Incident · No injuriesIncident investigationFinal report
Date
May 23, 1988, 18:44 local (22:44 UTC)
Place
Near San Juan, PR
Injuries
286 uninjured
Phase of flight
Enroute
Aircraft
N209PAAirbus Industrie A-300N727AABoeing 727
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.

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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.

Near collision between aircraftCruise - normal
Artcc service - inadequateAtc personnel(artcc)Cause
Atc clearance - improperAtc personnel(artcc)Cause
Identification of aircraft on radar - not possible
Near collision between aircraftCruise - normal
Artcc service - inadequateAtc personnel(artcc)Cause
Atc clearance - improperAtc personnel(artcc)Cause
Identification of aircraft on radar - not possible

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.