Fairchild SA-227-AC incident near Grand Rapids, Minnesota, August 30, 1993
On August 30, 1993 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Fairchild SA-227-AC, registered N446MA, was involved in an incident near Grand Rapids, Minnesota (Grand Rapids airport). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the fractured aileron cable and other maintenance personnel's inadequate maintenance/adjustment.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 30, 1993 · about 5:30 pm local time · cases in 1993
- Place
- Grand Rapids, Minnesota · Grand Rapids · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild SA-227-AC · all SA-227-ACs on the register
- Registration
- N446MA · registry record · serial AC-693
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE FLIGHT CREW WAS ON A REPOSITIONING FLIGHT. THE CREW EXPERIENCED A RESTRICTION TO AILERON CONTROL WHILE MANEUVERING TO LAND. ON APPROACH TO LANDING THERE WAS LIMITED AILERON CONTROL TO THE LEFT, AND NO AILERON CONTROL TO THE RIGHT. THE AIRPLANE LANDED SUCCESSFULLY. SUBSEQUENT EXAMINATION OF THE AILERON CABLE DISCLOSED THAT IT WAS BROKEN. AN INDEPENDENT METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION OF THE CABLE REVEALED THAT THE FAILURE WAS CONSISTENT WITH IT HAVING COME OFF THE PULLEY AND WEARING AGAINST A SMALL DIAMETER STEEL PIN. AFTER THE INCIDENT, A COMPLETE INSPECTION OF THE AIRLINE'S FLEET WAS CONDUCTED ON THE AILERON CONTROL CABLES AND NO SIMILAR DISCREPANCIES WERE FOUND.
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: 5,200 hours in all; 2,400 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,069 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 12,000 lb
- Seats: 12
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-11U (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Mesaba Aviation, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: TVF Thief Rve Falls MN at 5:14 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 34, 5,755 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 10 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,100 ft; not recorded at 2,100 ft
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:25 pm from GPZ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N446MA on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Fairchild SA227 86 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Fairchild 616 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-11U 12 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Grand Rapids/Itasca County-Gordon Newstrom Field · nearest airport
- Thief River Falls Regional · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Minnesota 1,544 since 1982 · 209 in the last ten years
- Minnesota 6,939 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CHI93IA382.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.