Swearingen SA-227AC accident near Pueblo, Colorado, December 8, 1982
On December 8, 1982 at about 2:07 am local time, a Swearingen SA-227AC, registered N30093, was destroyed in an accident near Pueblo, Colorado. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed. 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
- December 8, 1982 · about 2:07 am local time
- Place
- Pueblo, Colorado
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA-227AC · all SA-227ACs on the register
- Registration
- N30093 · no longer on the register · serial AC-449
- 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
AT 1906 THE FLT WAS CLEARED TO DESCEND & MAINTAIN 7,500 FT, TURN RIGHT TO A HEADING 040 FOR AN ASR APCH TO PUEBLO MEMORIAL ARPT, & THAT THE MDA IS 5,200. THE FLT READ BACK "LEFT TO ONE FORTY FIVE TWO ZERO ZERO." APPROACH CONTROL ADVISED THE FLT THAT THE HEADING WAS 040 & THE FLT ACKNOWLEDGED. THERE WERE NO FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE FLT. THE ACFT WAS TRAVELLING IN EXCESS OF AN ESTIMATED 200 MPH WHEN IT STRUCK TUNDRA IN LEVEL FLIGHT ON A HEADING OF ABOUT 040. THE COPLT'S AUTOPSY REVEALED THAT THE TRACHAE, BRONCHI, & LUNGS CONTAINED ASPIRATED GASTRIC CONTENTS, INCLUDING SKELETAL MUSCLE FIBERS. ANOTHER COMPANY PLT REPORTED THAT THE COPLT HAD VOMITED DURING A FLT ON 11/14/82.
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: 8,534 hours in all; 945 in this make and model; 234 in the last 90 days; 234 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,269 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Pioneer Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: C Santa Fe NM
- Destination: C Pueblo CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 130° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.
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.