Fairchild Swearingen SA226TC accident near Dallas, Texas, August 7, 1985
On August 7, 1985 at about 11:50 pm local time, a Fairchild Swearingen SA226TC, registered N5356M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dallas, Texas (Love Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 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 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
- August 7, 1985 · about 11:50 pm local time
- Place
- Dallas, Texas · Love Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild Swearingen SA226TC
- Registration
- N5356M · no longer on the register · serial TC211E
- 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
THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHEN IT LANDED WITH THE GEAR UP. THE PILOTS REPORTED LOWERING THE GEAR, BUT DID NOT CONFIRM THE GEAR POSITION. THE TOWER TRANSMITTED A WARNING, BUT THE CREW DID NOT RESPOND. SUBSEQUENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED A MALFUNCTION IN THE VOLTAGE REGULATORS ON BOTH GENERATORS. THE BATTERY VOLTAGE AVAILABLE WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO INITIATE GEAR EXTENSION. MANUAL GEAR EXTENSION WAS AVAILABLE.
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; instrument: airplane
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,280 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, May 6, 1985; 51 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 22
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Allison TPE331-3UW303 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FYV Fayetteville AR at 10:50 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13L, 7,754 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 97°F (36°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:51 pm from DAL
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.