Fairchild SA-227AC accident near Bayfield, Colorado, January 20, 1988
On January 20, 1988 at about 2:20 am local time, a Fairchild SA-227AC, registered N68TC, was destroyed in an accident near Bayfield, Colorado (Durango airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 9 people were killed, 1 person was seriously injured and 6 people had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt. 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 20, 1988 · about 2:20 am local time
- Place
- Bayfield, Colorado · Durango · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 9 people were killed, 1 person was seriously injured and 6 people had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild SA-227AC · all SA-227ACs on the register
- Registration
- N68TC · no longer on the register · serial AC 457
- 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
THE AIRCRAFT WAS OPERATING AS CONTINENTAL EXPRESS FLIGHT 2286. DURING THE APPROACH IN IFR CONDITIONS, THE AIRCRAFT WENT BELOW THE MINIMUM DESCENT ALTITUDE THEN STRUCK THE TERRAIN AT 7180 FEET MSL. EXAM OF THE AIRCRAFT DID NOT DISCLOSE ANY PRE-IMPACT FAILURES OR SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONS. THE EVIDENCE INDICATED THAT THE COPILOT WAS FLYING THE AIRPLANE DURING THE APPROACH. EVALUATION OF THE RADAR DATA SHOWED AN EXCESSIVE RATE OF DESCENT BEFORE THE COLLISION WITH TERRAIN. POST- MORTEM TOXICOLOGICAL EXAMINATION SHOWED THAT THE CAPTAIN HAD USED COCAINE PRIOR TO THIS FLIGHT. THE SAFTEY BOARD CONCLUDED THAT THIS USE HAD ADVERSLY AFFECTED HIS ABILITY TO MONITOR THE UNSTABILIZED APPROACH FLOWN BY THE COPILOT. RECORDS OF BOTH CREWMEMBERS REVEALED PRIOR TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS AND ACCIDENTS, AND, IN THE CASE OF THE CAPTAIN, A PREVIOUS AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT. EVALUATION OF THE WEATHER CONDITIONS INDICATED THAT A 10 TO 15 KNOT TAILWIND CONDITION EXISTED THROUGHOUT THE APPROACH.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,184 hours in all; 3,028 in this make and model; 165 in the last 90 days; 49 in the last 30 days; 2,651 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 14,500 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-114 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Trans Colorado Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: DEN Denver CO at 1:20 am
- Destination: DRO Durango CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 20, 9,200 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 800 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 7 | 1 | 6 | 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.