Swearingen SA227-AC incident near College Station, Texas, January 20, 1988
On January 20, 1988 at about 12:44 pm local time, a Swearingen SA227-AC, registered N3107P, suffered minor damage in an incident near College Station, Texas (Easterwood Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 7 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 20, 1988 · about 12:44 pm local time
- Place
- College Station, Texas · Easterwood Field · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA227-AC · all SA227-ACs on the register
- Registration
- N3107P · registry record · serial 496
- 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
THE AIRCRAFT'S NOSE GEAR STRUCK A DEER DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL AND THE TAKEOFF WAS ABORTED. THE AIRCRAFT TAXIED BACK TO THE TERMINAL AND WAS EXAMINED BY THE FLIGHT CREW. NO DAMAGE WAS FOUND. IT THEN DEPARTED ON ITS SCHEDULED FLIGHT. IT FLEW 18 FLIGHTS DURING THE NEXT TWO DAYS AND WAS THEN PLACED IN THE SHOP FOR MAINTENANCE. AT THIS TIME DAMAGE WAS NOTED IN THE NOSE WHEEL AREA.
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; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 3,782 hours in all; 389 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,865 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 5, 1988; 91 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE331-115-61 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Trans Colorado Airlines, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: CLL College Station TX at 12:43 pm
- Destination: IAH Houston TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 34, 6,999 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 300° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:44 pm from CLL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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 N3107P 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.