Swearingen SA-226TC incident near Nashville, Tennessee, June 26, 1987
On June 26, 1987 at about 12:55 pm local time, a Swearingen SA-226TC, registered N256AM, was involved in an incident near Nashville, Tennessee (Nashville Metro airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 11 people were on board or involved. 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 incident. 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
- June 26, 1987 · about 12:55 pm local time
- Place
- Nashville, Tennessee · Nashville Metro · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 11 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA-226TC · all SA-226TCs on the register
- Registration
- N256AM · registry record · serial TC 337
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THERE WAS HVY TRAFFIC AT THE NASHVILLE METRO ARPT WHEN AIR MIDWEST FLT 4530 (SWEARINGEN SA-226TC, N256AM) ARRIVED DRG A MORNING FLT. THE FLT CREW MADE AN ILS APCH TO RWY 31 AS ANOTHER ACFT (AMERICAN FLT 130) WAS ON AN APCH TO RWY 2L. THE 2 RWYS INTERSECTED NR THE MIDPOINT OF RWY 31. THE TWR CTLR CLRD FLT 4530 TO LND ON RWY 31, BUT INSTRUCTED THE FLT CREW TO HOLD SHORT OF RWY 2L. THE FLT REPLIED WITH AN UNINTELLIGIBLE COMMENT FLWD BY '. . . AIR MIDWEST 4530'S CLEARED TO LAND, 31.' THE TWR CTLR EXPECTED THE FLT TO HOLD SHORT OF RWY 2L. HOWEVER, AFTER LNDG, FLT 4530 CONTD ITS LNDG ROLL & CROSSED RWY 2L. THE RWY INCURSION OCCURRED AS FLT 130 WAS LNDG ON RWY 2L. THE CAPT OF FLT 4530 WAS AWARE OF INTERSECT-ING RWY OPNS, BUT SAID THAT BOTH HE & THE 1ST OFFICER UNDERSTOOD THEIR CLNC INCLUDED THE USE OF THE FULL RWY. A CHECK OFTHE TWR TAPES VERIFIED THE CTLR HAD TOLD FLT 4530 TO HOLD SHORT OF RWY 2L; HOWEVER, THE FLT CREW DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THAT INSTRUCTION & THE TWR CTLR FAILED TO ASK FOR AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,058 hours in all; 1,377 in this make and model; 183 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE-331-3 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PAH Paducah KY at 12:05 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 31, 8,500 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 25,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:50 pm from BNA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 9 |
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.