Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rio Sidra St. Pierre And Miquelon
Wednesday, December 31, 1997 7:45 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

On December 31, 1997, about 0745 eastern standard time, a Britten-Norman Islander, HP986, operating under Panamanian flight regulations, crashed in a dense jungle area about 4 miles short of its destination Rio Sidra, in the northeast district of San Blas, Panama, and about 50 miles northeast of the capital. There were reports of heavy fog in the area, and flight plan information was not available. The airplane was destroyed. The pilot and nine passengers were fatally injured. Four of the passengers were United States citizens. The flight originated from Panama City, Panama, for a 35-minute flight at 0643. Fifty minutes after departure the Department of Civil Aviation issued an alert that the airplane was missing. The flight was flying in heavy fog, that had been forecasted to disappear at noon. The pilot did not report any mechanical problems. At 1715, searchers located the wreckage 4 miles from the airport. All on board were assumed fatally injured. As of January 9, 1998, it was reported that all 10 victims on the airplane had been confirmed fatal and all the bodies were recovered. The investigation is under the jurisdiction of the government of Panama. Any further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from: Director of Civil Aviation, Panama Apartado 7501 & 7615 Panama 5, Panama Telephone: (507) 226-1245 This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information obtained for or released by the Panamanian Government.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Not Yet Reported

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/31/1997
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 745
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City RIO SIDRA
Event State --
Event Country ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON
Zipcode of the event site 00000
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 12
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 Unknown
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Unknown
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Not Reported
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 10
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 10
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 7000
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 1 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 109
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:43PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number --
NTSB Number MIA98WA049
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Non-U.S., Commercial
Type of Flight Plan filed Unknown
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Unknown
Aircraft Explosion Unknown
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Britten-Norman
Aircraft Model ISLANDER
Aircraft Series Identifier ISLANDER
Aircraft Serial Number
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class Unknown
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft --
Number of Engines --
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Unknown
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name
Aircraft Owner Street Address
Aircraft Owner City
Aircraft Owner State
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Unknown
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Unknown
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Unknown
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Unknown
Second Pilot on Board Unknown
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code
Departure City PANAMA CITY
Departure State OF
Departure Country
Departure Time 0
Departure Time Zone
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code
Destination City SAN BLAS ISLAND
Destination State OF
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 28 2003 5:24PM
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 --