Swearingen SA-226-TC accident near Atlanta, Georgia, May 16, 1988
On May 16, 1988 at about 3:23 pm local time, a Swearingen SA-226-TC, registered N1013G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Atlanta, Georgia (Atlanta Hartsfield). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 12 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 accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 16, 1988 · about 3:23 pm local time · cases in 1988
- Place
- Atlanta, Georgia · Atlanta Hartsfield · cases near this airport
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 12 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA-226-TC · all SA-226-TCs on the register
- Registration
- N1013G · registry record · serial TC-409
- 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 A VISUAL APPROACH TO RUNWAY 27L, THE AIRPLANE WAS LANDED GEAR UP. BOTH THE CAPT AND F/O STATED THAT THE LANDING GEAR HAD BEEN LOWERED OVER THE OUTER MARKER AND THAT THEY HAD OBSERVED THREE GREEN LIGHTS AND THAT THE WARNING HORN HAD NOT SOUNDED PRIOR TO TOUCHDOWN. THE AIRPLANE LEFT PROPELLER BLADE SIGNATURES ON THE RUNWAY AND WITNESSES ON THE GROUND STATED THAT THE LANDING GEAR WAS RETRACTED DURING THE APPROACH AND TOUCHDOWN. AFTER MOVING THE AIRPLANE AND PLACING IT ON JACKS, RETRACTION AND EXTENSION TESTS REVEALED THAT THE LANDING GEAR OPERATION WAS NORMAL AS WAS THE WARNING INDICATIONS. THE WARNING HORN FOR FLAPS DOWN/GEAR UP ALSO EXHIBITED NORMAL OPERATION.
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: 16,566 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,334 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 13,230 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-10UA (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Atlantis Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: MYR Myrtle Beach SC at 2:04 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27L, 9,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:00 pm from ATL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 10 |
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.
Other NTSB records under N1013G the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N1013G on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Swearingen SA-226 48 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Swearingen 88 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-10UA 7 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta International · nearest airport
- Myrtle Beach International · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Georgia 2,138 since 1982 · 361 in the last ten years
- Georgia 8,800 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N1013G 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ATL88FA173.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.