Swearingen SA-227-AC incident near Covington, Kentucky, January 8, 1985
On January 8, 1985 at about 1:55 pm local time, a Swearingen SA-227-AC, registered N3110J, was involved in an incident near Covington, Kentucky (Greater Cincinnati airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 13 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
- January 8, 1985 · about 1:55 pm local time
- Place
- Covington, Kentucky · Greater Cincinnati · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 13 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA-227-AC · all SA-227-ACs on the register
- Registration
- N3110J · no longer on the register · serial AC535
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCREW REPORTED THAT DURING FLT AT 6000 FT MSL, THEY ENCOUNTERED ICING CONDITIONS & USED THE DE-ICE & ANTI-ICE EQUIPMENT. AFTER THEY DESCENDED & WERE CLEAR OF ICING, THEY DEACTIVATED THE DE-ICE & ANTI-ICE EQUIPMENT.THE CAPT SAID HECHECKED THE PROP SPINNERS & NOTED A SMALL BUILDUP OF ICE, WHICH HE CONSIDERED AS MINIMAL, & TURNED OFF THE CONTINUOUS IGNITION. SHORTLY THEREAFTER WHILE ON FINAL APCH AT APRX 1000 FT AGL & 1 TO 1.5 MI FROM THE ARPT, THE R ENG LOST POWER WITHOUT WARNING. THE COPLT FEATHERED THE R PROP & THE APCH WAS CONTINUED. HOWEVER, AT ABOUT 200 FT AGL THE OTHER ENG ALSO LOST POWER. THE ACFT WAS LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. DURING AN INVESTIGATION, ICE WAS FOUND ON THE GROUND UNDER THE WINGS. NO MECHANICAL PROBLEMS OR FUEL CONTAMINATION WERE FND. THE ACFT HAD A HISTORY OF FLAMEOUTS DUE TO ICE BUILDUP & RELEASE FROM THE SPINNERS. IGNITION SW LABELED 'NORM', 'CONT' & 'OVRD.' TO OBTAIN CONTINUOUS IGNITION IN FLT, THE SWITCH MUST HAVE BEEN IN 'OVRD.' NO SPECIFIC WARNING IN FLT MANUAL TO USE CONTINUOUS IGNITION (OVRD) IN ICING COND.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,500 hours in all; 565 in this make and model; 189 in the last 90 days; 74 in the last 30 days; 2,663 as pilot in command; 500 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 51 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 14,500 lb
- Seats: 20
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE-331-11U (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: LEX Lexington KY at 1:30 pm
- Destination: CVG Cincinnati OH
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 27L, 7,800 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:50 pm from CVG
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 11 |
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.