Swearingen SA226TC accident near Hot Springs, Arkansas, August 28, 1983
On August 28, 1983 at about 1:03 am local time, a Swearingen SA226TC, registered N503SS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Hot Springs, Arkansas (Memorial Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 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
- August 28, 1983 · about 1:03 am local time
- Place
- Hot Springs, Arkansas · Memorial Field
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA226TC · all SA226TCs on the register
- Registration
- N503SS · no longer on the register · serial TC-229E
- 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
TURNING ONTO THE RWY THE COPLT OBSERVED A FLASH BEHIND HIS INST PANEL. HE THEN RECEIVED AN ELECT SHOCK TO HIS RIGHT ARM FROM THE RIGHT CONSOLE. A FIRE THEN ERUPTED AT THE LOWER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF HIS INST PANEL. THE CREW & PAX EVACUATED THE ACFT. THE INTERIOR OF THE ACFT WAS CONSUMED BY FIRE AS WELL AS MOST OF THE UPPER HALF OF THE FUSELAGE. EXAM OF THE RIGHT SIDE WIRE BUNDLE REVEALED NUMEROUS INDICATIONS OF ARCING BETWEEN WIRES & FROM WIRES TO GROUND. ONE WIRE WAS ARCED AT A POINT IN LINE WITH A PLASTIC OXYGEN LINE. THERE WAS ALSO AN OILY RESIDUE INSIDE THE WIRE BUNDLE. A SMALL SECTION OFTHE RIGHT BRAKE PRESSURE LINE EXHIBITED SIGNS OF ELECT ARCING. THE HYDRAULIC SYST PRESS GAGE COPPER LINE ALSO SHOWED SIGNS OF ARCING. THE PLASTIC OXYGEN LINES FROM THE THE COCKPIT SIDE OF THE FORWARD PRESSURE BULKHEAD TO THE COCKPIT OUTLETS HAD BEEN CONSUMED BY FIRE & THE OXYGEN SUPPLY WAS DEPLEATED.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,120 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 5,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE-331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: FTW Dallas TX
- Destination: Little Rock AR
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 5, 6,595 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:00 am from HOT, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
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.