San Juan - Kingstown

On December 11, 1996 at 12:24 PM, San Juan - Kingstown experienced a crash involving Beechcraft G18S, operated by TolAir Services, with the event recorded near Roosevelt Roads NAS (Ceiba) All Puerto Rico.

The flight was categorized as cargo and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a lake, sea, ocean, river crash site.

1 people were known to be on board, 1 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 1, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. At 1136 AST, the twin engine airplane departed San Juan, PR, on a flight to St Vincent. About 1208 AST, the pilot contacted ATC and indicated that he would like to divert to St Thomas. He informed the controller that he had 'feathered' the left engine due to loss of the left engine cowling, but he did not declare an emergency. He requested wind information for St Thomas, then at about 1613 AST, he changed his destination to Roosevelt Roads, PR. At 1120 AST, the pilot reported that the airplane was losing about 300'/min, then about 1 minute later, he said he was going to attempt an engine restart, and that the airplane was getting close to the water. A short time later, he informed ATC that he was not going to make it to shore. The pilot acknowledged info that search and rescue personnel were responding, then there was not further contact with the airplane. The airplane was located about 6 miles east of Roosevelt Roads NAS, but the pilot was not found. Review of weight and balance info revealed the pilot did not follow written procedures, and that the airplane exceeded the maximum authorized gross weight for take off. Flight crews had been informed of a communique from the manufacturer that there was no need to shut down an engine and feather the propeller unless engine performance or a major vibration problem confirmed the need.

Aircraft reference details include registration N353T, MSN BA-485, year of manufacture 1959.