Swearingen SA226TC incident near Tulsa, Oklahoma, October 26, 1984
On October 26, 1984 at about 1:24 pm local time, a Swearingen SA226TC, registered N511SS, suffered minor damage in an incident near Tulsa, Oklahoma (Tulsa Intl' airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 9 people were on board or involved. 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 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
- October 26, 1984 · about 1:24 pm local time
- Place
- Tulsa, Oklahoma · Tulsa Intl' · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 9 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA226TC · all SA226TCs on the register
- Registration
- N511SS · no longer on the register · serial TC205
- 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
DURING CRUISE, THE CREW EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF HYDRAULIC PRESSURE & SMOKE IN THE COCKPIT, THEN DONNED THEIR OXYGEN MASKS.THEY USED THE EMERG GEAR EXTENSION SYSTEM & MADE A SAFE EMERG LANDING. AN EXAM REVEALED A CRACKED 2000 PSI ALUMINUM HYDRAULIC LINE HAD SPRAYED FLUID IN THE COCKPIT. A RECENTLY ISSUED SERVICE BULLETIN RECOMMENDED REPLACEMENT OF THAT LINE, BUT PARTS WERE REPORTEDLY NOT AVAILABLE. LONGITUDINAL SCRATCHES WERE FOUND ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE LINE. FAILURE HAD OCCURRED AT A LONGITUDINAL SCRATCH AT A BEND IN THE LINE.
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, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,495 hours in all; 2,866 in this make and model; 263 in the last 90 days; 5,119 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 22,656 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme; 44 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 24
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE 331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: TUL Tulsa OK at 12:10 pm
- Destination: FYV Fayetteville AR
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 26, 7,700 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 2 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,300 ft; not recorded at 1,300 ft
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:50 pm from TUL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 7 |
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 N511SS 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.