Swearingen SA226TC accident near Denver, Colorado, May 19, 2000
On May 19, 2000 at about 12:39 pm local time, a Swearingen SA226TC, registered N235BA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Denver, Colorado (Denver International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
propeller blade fatigue failure due to stress corrosion.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 19, 2000 · about 12:39 pm local time
- Place
- Denver, Colorado · Denver International · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA226TC · all SA226TCs on the register
- Registration
- N235BA · no longer on the register · serial TC235
- 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
When the pilot added power for takeoff, at the origination of a cross-country cargo flight, he heard an impact sound on the right side of the airplane, and the right engine began to vibrate violently. He shut down both engines, declared an emergency, and when the engines had spooled down he exited the airplane. Inspection revealed the right hand propeller had shed a blade, which caused damage to the right engine mounts, right engine nacelle, and propeller shrapnel damage to the fuselage, right wing, and right flap. Examination provided evidence that the propeller blade fractured due to a fatigue crack that emanated from a stress corrosion crack region at the mid span portion on the flat side of the blade. The coating on the surface of the blade in the area of the stress corrosion cracking had been breached. The breach in the coating allowed corrosion media to attack the blade.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 2,740 hours in all; 354 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 65 in the last 30 days; 2,035 as pilot in command; 270 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 26,778 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 17, 2000; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE331-IOUA (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: DVX at 12:35 pm
- Destination: MJT Montrose CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 35L, 12,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 109°F (43°C), dew point 81°F (27°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:29 pm from DEN, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Other NTSB records under N235BA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.