Swearingen SA226TC accident near Fort Wayne, Indiana, November 9, 2000
On November 9, 2000 at about 6:23 am local time, a Swearingen SA226TC, registered N731AC, was destroyed in an accident near Fort Wayne, Indiana (Fort Wayne International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The indicated failure of the right hand AC bus during takeoff with low ceiling. The factors were the low ceiling, night, and the execssive workload the pilot experienced on takeoff with an electrical failure without a second in command.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 9, 2000 · about 6:23 am local time
- Place
- Fort Wayne, Indiana · Fort Wayne International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA226TC · all SA226TCs on the register
- Registration
- N731AC · registry record · serial TC-255
- 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 airplane was destroyed on impact with trees and terrain after takeoff. A post-impact fire ensued. A courier stated that he put 14 cases and 5 bags into the airplane and that "everything took place as it normally does." A witness stated, "I heard a very low flying aircraft come directly over my house. ... It sounded very revved up like a chainsaw cutting through a tree at high speed." The accident airplane's radar returns, as depicted on a chart, exhibited a horseshoe shaped flight path. That chart showed that the airplane made a left climbing turn to a maximum altitude of 2,479 feet. That chart showed the airplane in a descending left turn after that maximum recorded altitude was attained. The operator reported the pilot had flown about 75 hours in the same make and model airplane and had flown about 190 hours in the last 90 days. The weather was: Wind 090 degrees at 7 knots; visibility 1 statute mile; present weather light rain, mist; sky condition overcast 200 feet; temperature 9 degrees C; dew point 9 degrees C. No pre-impact engine anomalies were found. NTSB's Materials Laboratory Division examined the annunciator panel and recovered light assemblies and stated, "Item '29' was a light assembly with an identification cover indicating that it was the '[Right-hand] AC BUS' light. Examination of the filaments in the two installed bulbs revealed that one had been stretched, deformed and fractured and the other had been stretched and deformed." The airplane manufacturer stated that the airplane's left-hand and right-hand attitude gyros are powered by the 115-volt alternating current essential bus. Two inverters are installed and one inverter is used at a time as selected by the inverter select switch. The inverter select switch is located on the right hand switch panel. The airplane was not equipped with a backup attitude gyro and was not required to be equipped with one. The airplane was certified with a minimum flight crew of one pilot. Subsequent to the accident, the operator transitioned "from the single pilot operation of our Fairchild Metroliner to the inclusion of a First Officer."
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,870 hours in all; 75 in this make and model; 190 in the last 90 days
- Last flight review: September 9, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 20,885.5 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, November 5, 2000; 11.4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Garrett TPE-331-10UA (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Garrett TPE-331-10UA (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: FWA Fort Wayne IN at 6:23 am
- Destination: MKE Milwaukee WI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 14, 8,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 090° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:54 am from FWA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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 N731AC 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.