Swearingen SA-226TC accident near Wilmington, North Carolina, April 23, 1987
On April 23, 1987 at about 11:35 pm local time, a Swearingen SA-226TC, registered N505LB, was destroyed in an accident near Wilmington, North Carolina (New Hanover airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- April 23, 1987 · about 11:35 pm local time
- Place
- Wilmington, North Carolina · New Hanover · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA-226TC · all SA-226TCs on the register
- Registration
- N505LB · no longer on the register · serial TC202
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE RIGHT ENGINE FAILED DURING TAKEOFF IMMEDIATELY AFTER ROTATION 3000' DOWN THE 7,002' RWY 16. THE PLT CONTINUED THE FLT AND THE LANDING GEAR REMAINED EXTENDED. THE UNAUTHORIZED PLT RATED PAX MADE XMISSIONS TO THE TOWER. WITNESSES RPTED THAT THE ACFT REACHED APPROX. 150' THEN DESCENDED INTO TREES 20 DEGREES TO THE RIGHT OF RWY CENTERLINE AND 3,000' SOUTH OF THE ARPT. THE PRE- 1979 3RD STAGE STATOR ASSY IN THE RIGHT ENGINE DID NOT HAVE THE LATEST MANUFACTURE WELDING PROCESS/INSPECTION AND FAILED CAUSING THE UNCONTAINED TURBINE FAILURE. INSTRUMENTS IN THE WRECKAGE INDICATED THAT AN UNDETERMINABLE LOSS OF ELECTRICAL POWER OCCURRED AT THE TIME OF ENGINE FAILURE. PERFORMANCE DATA INDICATED THAT A SAFE LANDING COULD HAVE BEEN MADE ON THE REMAINING RWY PAST THE POINT OF ENGINE FAILURE.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,160 hours in all; 1,860 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 43 in the last 30 days; 5,460 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,667 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 4, 1987; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE 331-3UW (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: ILM Wilmington NC at 11:34 pm
- Destination: LBT Lumberton NC
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 16, 7,002 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:36 pm from ILM, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.