Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

San Juan
Thursday, May 22, 1997 15:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that during cruise flight, the flight crew noticed that the left engine had high temperature and that its oil pressure started to fluctuate. A precautionary engine shutdown was performed. A short time later, the right engine started to fail, and the airplane would not maintain altitude. The left engine was restarted, but the flight crew could not maintain altitude. A forced landing was made on a beach; however, the airplane came to rest in 5 feet of water in the Atlantic Ocean. Examination of the left engine revealed a failure of the front master rod bearing. Examination of the right engine revealed a failure of the aft master rod.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the aft master rod in the right engine, and failure of the front master rod bearing in the left engine, which resulted in a forced landing on a beach and a subsequent encounter with ocean water.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/22/1997
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1530
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City SAN JUAN
Event State PUERTO RICO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 00773
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1456 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 110
Weather Observation Facility ID SJU
Elevation of weather observation facility 10
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 20
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 21
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 70
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 17
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 186
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 22 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1545
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:17PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N355T
NTSB Number MIA97LA174
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Convair
Aircraft Model CV-240
Aircraft Series Identifier CV-240
Aircraft Serial Number 281
Certified Max Gross Weight 41790
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 3
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection AAIP
Date of Last Inspection May 12 1997 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 50
Airframe Hours 14239
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name TOL-AIR CORPORATION
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO BOX 37670
Aircraft Owner City SAN JUAN
Aircraft Owner State PR
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 37670
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code WNRB
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? Yes
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code STT
Departure City ST THOMAS
Departure State VI
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code SJU
Destination City
Destination State PR
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --