Swearingen SA-266TC incident near South Bend, Indiana, March 10, 1982
On March 10, 1982 at about 3:00 am local time, a Swearingen SA-266TC, registered N323BA, suffered minor damage in an incident near South Bend, Indiana (Michiana Regional airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 9 people were on board or involved. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- March 10, 1982 · about 3:00 am local time
- Place
- South Bend, Indiana · Michiana Regional · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 9 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA-266TC
- Registration
- N323BA · no longer on the register · serial TC-280
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE CAPTAIN REPORTED THAT AT LIFT-OFF ABOVE VI SPEED, HE HEARD A LOUD POP THAT SOUNDED LIKE A TIRE HAD FAILED. A "BRIGHT YELLOWISH" ILLUMINATION WAS THEN SEEN IN FRONT OF THE RIGHT ENGINE. THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT RUNWAY TO ABORT, SO THE TAKEOFF WAS CONTINUED. THE RIGHT ENGINE WAS SECURED (PROP FEATHERED), THE GEAR WAS RETRACTED AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. AN EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE NUMBER THERE TURBINE WHEEL HAD FAILED.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 10,008 hours in all; 338 in this make and model; 305 in the last 90 days; 9,170 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,119 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE3313U3G (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Britt Airways, INC
The flight
- Departed from: SBN South Bend IN
- Destination: Muncie IN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27, 7,100 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 110° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 3,800 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 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 N323BA 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.