Swearingen SA226TC incident near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 16, 1984
On April 16, 1984 at about 11:57 pm local time, a Swearingen SA226TC, registered N163MA, suffered minor damage in an incident near Milwaukee, Wisconsin (General Mitchell airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 10 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 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
- April 16, 1984 · about 11:57 pm local time
- Place
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin · General Mitchell · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 10 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA226TC · all SA226TCs on the register
- Registration
- N163MA · registry record · serial TC236
- 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
A GEAR UP LANDING WAS PERFORMED AFTER THE CREW WAS UNABLE TO EXTEND THE RGT MAIN GEAR THRU NORMAL & EMERG PROCEDURES. AN EXAM OF THE ACFT DISCLOSED THE RGT MAIN GEAR DOOR AFT HINGE BOLT WAS SLIGHTLY BENT & DIFFICULT TO ROTATE IN ITS BUSHING. THE BUSHING & BOLT WERE DRY & HAD NOT BEEN LUBRICATED RECENTLY. THE HYDRAULIC CYLINDER WAS NOT CAPABLE OF SUPPLYING ENOUGH PRESSURE TO OVERCOME THE BINDING DOOR. THE BUSHING HAD NOT RECENTLY BEEN INSPECTED OR LUBRICATED BY MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL BECAUSE OF ITS LOCATION BEING DIFFICULT TO ACCESS.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,243 hours in all; 4,269 in this make and model; 208 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,115 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, April 4, 1984; 61 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,062 lb
- Seats: 22
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE 331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Midstate Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: IND Indianapolis IN at 9:14 pm
- Destination: MKE Milwaukee WI
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0, 9,690 ft by 200 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 25 knots, gusting 35
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,300 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:02 pm from MKE
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 8 |
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 N163MA 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.