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MIA87LA063

1986-12-30 · WEST PALM BCH, Florida, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PBI

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

DURING PASSENGER BOARDING AT TALLAHASSEE IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE LEFT HANDRAIL ON THE AIRSTAIR WAS COLLAPSED. THE FAILURE WAS AT THE SOLDERED JOINT AT THE HANDRAIL LOCKING MECHANISM. THE STATION MANAGER USED METAL GLUE FOR A TEMPORARY REPAIR OF THE JOINT. THE FLT CREW WAS MADE AWARE OF THE DISCREPANCY. THE ACFT THEN DEPARTED FOR WEST PALM BEACH VIA ORLANDO. THE AIRSTAIR WAS NOT USED AT ORLANDO. A DISABLED PASSENGER WAS INJURED WHEN THE HANDRAIL COLLAPSED WHEN BOARDING THE ACFT UNASSISTED AT WEST PALM BEACH. THE PASSENGER STATED THAT HE DID NOT NEED ASSISTANCE IN BOARDING JUST A LITTLE EXTRA TIME. WHEN THE HANDRAIL COLLAPSED THE PASSENGER LOST HIS BALANCE AND FELL TO THE GROUND RECEIVING SERIOUS INJURIES. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1986_MIA87LA063.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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