Amateur-built SD3-30 accident near North Canton, Ohio, April 27, 1984
On April 27, 1984, a amateur-built SD3-30, registered N330L, was substantially damaged in an accident near North Canton, Ohio (Akron Canton airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 22 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 27, 1984
- Place
- North Canton, Ohio · Akron Canton · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 22 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SD3-30
- Registration
- N330L · registry record · serial SH3026
- 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
FOLLOWING NORMAL LNDG, PLT EXECUTED 180-DEGREE TURN ON RUNWAY, THEN TAXIED TO GATE. NORMAL GATE ARRIVAL MANEUVER IS A RIGHT 180-DEGREE TURN TO PRESENT LEFT SIDE OF ACFT TO GATE. AS ACFT PASSED THROUGH ABOUT 135 DEGREES OF THIS MANEUVER, HYDRAULIC WARNING LIGHTS ILLUMINATED AND BOTH NOSEWHEEL STEERING AND NORMAL BRAKING BECAME INOPERATIVE. PLT ATTEMPTED TO CONTINUE ARC OF TURN WITH DIFFERENTIAL POWER BUT RADIUS HAD INCREASED TO THE POINT THAT LEFT WING CONTACTED TERMINAL ROOF. INVESTIGATION SHOWED A TRAIL OF HYDRAULIC FLUID FROM THE POINT OF THE 180-DEGREE TURN ON THE RUNWAY TO POINT WHERE BRAKING ACTION WAS LOST. NOSEWHEEL STEERING HYD FLEX LINES SHOWED CHAFING OF EXTERNAL REINFORCEMENT BRAIDING AT BEND RADIUS WITH SUBSEQUENT RUPTURE OF WEAKENED TUBING WALL. RECORDS SHOWED 7000 LANDINGS SINCE LINE REPLACEMENT.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,000 hours in all; 2,863 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,709 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 24,000 lb
- Seats: 30
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-45B (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PIT Pittsburgh PA at 11:30 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 23, 5,598 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 180° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:45 pm from CAK, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 19 |
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.