Swearingen SA227-AC incident near Durango, Colorado, January 15, 1984
On January 15, 1984 at about 4:05 am local time, a Swearingen SA227-AC, registered N31088, suffered minor damage in an incident near Durango, Colorado (La Plata County airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 6 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 incident. 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 15, 1984 · about 4:05 am local time
- Place
- Durango, Colorado · La Plata County · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 6 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA227-AC · all SA227-ACs on the register
- Registration
- N31088 · no longer on the register · serial AC-520
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO THE CAPTAIN, THE COPLT WAS MAKING THE LANDING & CROSSED THE THRESHOLD AT 50 TO 60 FT AGL AT 110 TO 115 KTS. HE SAID A SLIGHTLY HIGHER AIRSPEED WAS USED TO COMPENSATE FOR A SMALL ABOUNT OF ICE THAT REMAINED ON THE LEADING EDGE OF THE WINGS. IN THE FLARE, THE ACFT YAWED LEFT & REPORTEDLY TOUCHED DOWN WITH THE NOSE ABOUT 15 DEGS TO THE LEFT. THE LEFT MAIN WHEEL TOUCHED DOWN ABOUT 21 FT FROM THE EDGE OF THE 150 FT WIDE RWY. THE CAPT TOOK CONTROL & APPLIED CORRECTIVE ACTION, BUT THE ACFT WENT OFF THE RWY, HIT A SNOW BANK & MUD, THEN THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED.THE NORMAL APCH SPEED WAS 103 KTS FOR THE ACFT'S WEIGHT. ACCORDING TO THE FLT MANUAL, THE APCH SPEED SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCREASED BY 19 KTS IF THERE WAS ICE ON THE FLYING SURFACES.
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: 7,000 hours in all; 3,200 in this make and model; 220 in the last 90 days; 5,800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,606 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 13, 1984; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 18
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE 331-11 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ABQ Albuquerque NM
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 2, 9,200 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,000 ft; not recorded at 2,000 ft
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 23°F (-5°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:05 am from DRO
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 4 |
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.