- Date
- July 9, 1987, 11:21 local (15:21 UTC)
- Place
- Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Ocean)
- Injuries
- 202 uninjured
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- YV135Douglas DC-10-30N804PAAirbus Industrie A-310-222
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 1, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 30531
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
A Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10 (viasa flt 800) & an Airbus A310 (pan am flt 221) were involved in a near collision while on intl flts ovr the Atlantic Ocean on (airway) amber 300. Both acft were operg under IFR & were in a non-radar environmentw/o drct radio ctc with an ATC facility. Communication btn the acft & ATC was thru arinc, a commercial company. While southbound at FL 370, flt 221 made a req thru arinc to climb to FL 390. When the controller (ctlr) at new york center oceanic ctl rcvd the req, he coordinated with san juan ARTCC & scanner his board, but saw no conflicts & approved the req. After lvlg at FL 390, flt 221 converged head-on with flt 800 which was northbound at the same alt. The aircrew of flt 800 took evasive actn; the crew of flt 221 elected not to mnvr. The capt of flt 800 said he estd the acft passed with 500' to 1000' hrzntl sepn & 350' vrt sepn. The ctlr had just come on duty. After flt 800 had previously passed a mandatory rprtg point, its strip had been removed fm the ctlr's board since the next intxn was a non-rprtg fix.
A Mcdonnell Douglas DC-10 (viasa flt 800) & an Airbus A310 (pan am flt 221) were involved in a near collision while on intl flts ovr the Atlantic Ocean on (airway) amber 300. Both acft were operg under IFR & were in a non-radar environmentw/o drct radio ctc with an ATC facility. Communication btn the acft & ATC was thru arinc, a commercial company. While southbound at FL 370, flt 221 made a req thru arinc to climb to FL 390. When the controller (ctlr) at new york center oceanic ctl rcvd the req, he coordinated with san juan ARTCC & scanned his board, but saw no conflicts & approved the req. After lvlg at FL 390, flt 221 converged head-on with flt 800 which was northbound at the same alt. The aircrew of flt 800 took evasive actn; the crew of flt 221 elected not to mnvr. The capt of flt 800 said he estd the acft passed with 500' to 1000' hrzntl sepn & 350' vrt sepn. The ctlr had just come on duty. After flt 800 had previously passed a mandatory rprtg point, its strip had been removed fm the ctlr's board since the next intxn was a non-rprtg fix.
Aircraft · 2
- Registration
- YV135
- Reported as
- Douglas DC-10-30
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 46971
- Engine
- GE CF6, 51,800 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 129
- Registered owner
- Venezolana Internacional
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- AAIP · July 1, 1987 · 81 hours before
- Departed
- SVMI · Crcs,Venezuela, OF
- Destination
- JFK · Jamaica, NY
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Registration
- N804PA
- Reported as
- Airbus Industrie A-310-222 (A310-222)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 339
- Airframe hours
- 4,025
- Engine
- P&W JT9D-7R4-600, 48,500 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- No damage
- Flight
- Part 121
- Registered owner
- Pan American World Airways
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Departed
- JFK · Jamaica, NY
- Destination
- STT · St Thomas
- Flight plan
- IFR
Flight crew · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft 1
- Age
- 47
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 14,000 total · 4,000 in this make and model · 3 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot, aircraft N804PA
- Age
- 47
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 8,500 total · 600 in this make and model · 3,200 as pilot in command · 84 in the last 90 days · 33 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 8 knots
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg