Swearingen SA-227 accident near London, Kentucky, January 31, 1985
On January 31, 1985 at about 11:47 am local time, a Swearingen SA-227, registered N568UP, was destroyed in an accident near London, Kentucky (London-Corbin airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- January 31, 1985 · about 11:47 am local time
- Place
- London, Kentucky · London-Corbin
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA-227 · all SA-227s on the register
- Registration
- N568UP · no longer on the register · serial AT568
- 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
DRG ARRIVAL, AT 0540:31, THE CAPT WAS CLRD FOR AN RNAV RWY 5 APCH & WAS TOLD TO CONTACT LONDON FSS ON 121.6 MHZ, 'NOW.' HOWEVER, HE DID NOT MAKE THE RADIO CALL UNTIL APRX 3 MIN LATER. THE ACFT BROKE OUT OF THE WX AT ABOUT 1000' & 1 MI FM THE ARPT (BEFORE THE RADIO CALL). AT THAT TIME, THE RWY LIGHTS WERE NOT ON. THE CAPT THEN ADVISED THE FSS TO TURN ON THE RWY LIGHTS & HE MADE A LEFT PATTERN TO CIRCLE BACK & LAND. DRG THE NEXT APCH, THE ACFT WAS HI & FAST ON FINAL APCH & TOUCHED DOWN LONG. THE 1ST OFFICER RECOMMENDED THAT THE CAPT MAKE A GO-AROUND, BUT THE CAPT ELECTED TO CONT THE LNDG. WHEN THE CAPT REALIZED THAT HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO STOP ON THE REMAINING RWY, HE RETRACTED THE GEAR. THE ACFT THEN SLIDOFF THE END OF THE RWY, WENT OVR AN EMBANKMENT, BECAME AIRBORNE FOR ABOUT 140', THEN IMPACTED IN A LARGE RAVINE AREA. THE WEIGHT MANIFEST WAS FND TO BE IN ERROR. AFTER ALLOWING FOR A 500 LB FUEL BURN-OFF, THE LANDING WEIGHT WAS ESTIMATED TO BE 14,668 LBS. THE MAX GROSS WT LIMIT WAS 14,500 LBS.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,688 hours in all; 307 in this make and model; 98 in the last 90 days; 31 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 783 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 12, 1984; 58 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 14,500 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE-331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Sat-Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: SDF Louisville KY at 9:18 am
- Destination: LOZ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 5, 6,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,000 ft; not recorded at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:11 am from LOZ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
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.