Swearingen SA-26AT accident near Glenwood Spring, Colorado, February 14, 1992
On February 14, 1992 at about 3:55 am local time, a Swearingen SA-26AT, registered N26JB, was destroyed in an accident near Glenwood Spring, Colorado. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 3 people were seriously injured and 1 person 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
MALFUNCTION OF THE RIGHT ENGINE FUEL CONTROL THAT CAUSED THE ENGINE TO FLAME OUT, AND DELAMINATION OF THE LEFT ENGINE COMPRESSOR SHROUD. FACTORS WERE: THE PILOT BECAME DISORIENTED, THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN, THE DARK NIGHT, AND THE WEATHER CONDITIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 14, 1992 · about 3:55 am local time
- Place
- Glenwood Spring, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries; 1 other was unhurt.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA-26AT · all SA-26ATs on the register
- Registration
- N26JB · no longer on the register · serial T26-163
- 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 PILOT OF THE AIR AMBULANCE FEATHERED THE RIGHT PROPELLER AFTER REPORTING 'A BIT OF A PROBLEM' WITH THE RIGHT ENGINE. HE ATTEMPTED TO DIVERT TO THE NEAREST SUITABLE AIRPORT, BUT AFTER RECEIVING ITS LATEST WEATHER REPORT, ELECTED TO RETURN TO BASE. THE AIRPLANE MADE A LEFT TURN, REENTERED IMC, AND IMPACTED A MOUNTAINSIDE ON A MAGNETIC HEADING OF 092 DEGREES. THE HEADING TO THE AIRPORT OF INTENDED LANDING WAS 272 DEGREES. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED DURING A SNOW STORM AT NIGHT. ALL FIVE OCCUPANTS SURVIVED AND WERE RESCUED THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON. THICK GREASE ON THE RIGHT ENGINE FUEL CONTROL CAM SHAFT PREVENTED A SPRING FROM RETURNING THE 3D CAM TO A LOWER ALTITUDE POSITION. THE CAM WAS FOUND STRUCK ON THE SHAFT AT A POSITION EQUATING TO AN ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 15,000 FEET. THE FUEL FLOW SCHEDULE FOR FLIGHT IDLE WAS BELOW SPECIFICATIONS. IN ADDITION, SHROUD MATERIAL WAS FOUND DELAMINATED FROM THE LEFT ENGINE SECOND STAGE COMPRESSOR HOUSING.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,600 hours in all; 750 in this make and model; 85 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 8,550 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,988 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, December 23, 1991; 27 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,000 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE331-1-151G (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GJT Grand Junction CO at 3:11 am
- Destination: DEN Denver CO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DEN92FA035.