Lockheed L382E-44K-20 accident near Marietta, Georgia, February 3, 1993
On February 3, 1993 at about 6:27 pm local time, a Lockheed L382E-44K-20, registered N130X, was destroyed in an accident near Marietta, Georgia (Dobbins Afb airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 7 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
DISENGAGEMENT OF THE RUDDER FLY-BY-WIRE FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM RESULTING IN A TOTAL LOSS OF RUDDER CONTROL CAPABILITY WHILE CONDUCTING GROUND MINIMUM CONTROL SPEED TESTS. THE DISENGAGEMENT WAS A RESULT OF THE INADEQUATE DESIGN OF THE RUDDER'S INTEGRATED ACTUATOR PACKAGE BY ITS MANUFACTURER; THE OPERATOR'S INSUFFICIENT SYSTEM SAFETY REVIEW FAILED TO CONSIDER THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE INADEQUATE DESIGN TO ALL OPERATING REGIMES. A FACTOR WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE FLIGHT CREW'S LACK OF ENGINEERING FLIGHT TEST TRAINING.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 3, 1993 · about 6:27 pm local time
- Place
- Marietta, Georgia · Dobbins Afb
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 7 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Lockheed L382E-44K-20 L382E-44K-
- Registration
- N130X · no longer on the register · serial 4412
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT WAS DESIGNED & USED AS THE COMPANY'S ENGINEERING TEST BED. AN EVALUATION OF THE FLY-BY-WIRE RUDDER ACTUATOR & GROUND MINIMUM CONTROL SPEED (VMCG) WAS BEING CONDUCTED. DURING THE FINAL HI-SPEED GROUND TEST RUN, THE ACFT ABRUPTLY VEERED LEFT & BECAME AIRBORNE. IT ENTERED A LEFT TURN, CLIMBED TO ABOUT 250 FT, DEPARTED CONTROLLED FLT & IMPACTED THE GRND. INVESTIGATION REVEALED A DESIGN FEATURE IN THE RUDDER ACTUATOR THAT REMOVES HYD PRESSURE WITHIN THE ACTUATOR IF THE RUDDER POSITION COMMANDED BY THE PILOT EXCEEDED THE ACTUAL RUDDER ACTUATOR POSITION FOR A SPECIFIED TIME, AND THE RUDDER AERODYNAMICALLY TRAILS. THE ACTUATOR PREVIOUSLY DISENGAGED IN FLT. THE COMPANY DID NOT CONDUCT A SYSTEM SAFETY REVIEW OF THE RUDDER BYPASS FEATURE & ITS CONSEQUENCES TO ALL FLT REGIMES, NOR OF THE VMCG TEST. THE FLT TEST PLAN SPECIFIED THAT ENGINE POWER BE RETARDED IF THE RUDDER BECAME INEFFECTIVE. NEITHER PLT HAD RECEIVED TRAINING AS AN EXPERIMENTAL TEST PLT. THE COMPANY ALLOWED EXPERIMENTAL FLT TESTS AT A CONFINED, METROPOLITAN ARPT.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,658 hours in all; 1,260 in this make and model; 74 in the last 90 days; 16 in the last 30 days; 5,276 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,708 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 5, 1991; 29 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 155,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Allison 501-M71K (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Lockheed Aero. Systems CO.
The flight
- Departed from: MGE at 6:26 pm
- Destination: MGE
- Runway 11, 10,000 ft by 300 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:30 pm from MGE, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 7 |
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 N130X the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.