Cessna 402C accident near Hickory, North Carolina, May 27, 1984
On May 27, 1984 at about 11:48 pm local time, a Cessna 402C, registered N3132M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hickory, North Carolina (Hickory airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 4 people were seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 27, 1984 · about 11:48 pm local time
- Place
- Hickory, North Carolina · Hickory
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were seriously injured and 2 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 402C · all 402Cs on the register
- Registration
- N3132M · no longer on the register · serial 402C0281
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING THE ILS APCH TO RWY 24 (6400 FT LONG), VISUAL CONTACT WITH THE RWY WAS ESTABLISHED AT APRX 500 FT AGL AND THE ACFT WAS INDICATING 'ONE DOT' HIGH ON THE GLIDE SLOPE. WITNESSES STATED THE ACFT TOUCHED DOWN PAST THE HALFWAY POINT ON THE RWY WITH FULL FLAPS IN MODERATE RAIN. A 5 KT TAILWIND WAS PRESENT AT THE TIME AND THE RWY CONTAINED A .8% DOWNSLOPE. UPON APPLICATION OF THE BRAKES, THE PLT FOUND THEM INEFFECTIVE AND CALLED FOR FLAPS UP. BRAKING WAS STILL INEFFECTIVE AND THE PLT ELECTED TO GROUND LOOP THE ACFT TO STOP. LEFT TURNING SKID MARKS WERE FOUND STARTING 300 FEET BEFORE THE END OF THE RWY. THEY CONTINUED 120 FT BEYOND THE RWY UNTIL THE ACFT TRAVELED OFF AN EMBANKMENT. APRX3 INCHES OF WATER WAS PRESENT ON THE RWY WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE ACFT TRAVELED 120 FT BEYOND THE EMBANKMENT AND COLLIDED WITH UPSLOPING TERRAIN ON THE OTHER SIDE.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,590 hours in all; 336 in this make and model; 229 in the last 90 days; 3,461 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,797 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, May 11, 1983; 48 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,850 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-520 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Sunbird Airlines,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: CLT Charlotte NC at 11:15 pm
- Destination: HKY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 24, 6,400 ft by 140 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 400 ft; not recorded at 400 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:48 pm from HKY, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 2 | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.