Fairchild SA227-AC incident near Sugar Land, Texas, November 11, 1993
On November 11, 1993 at about 8:10 pm local time, a Fairchild SA227-AC, registered N688NE, suffered minor damage in an incident near Sugar Land, Texas (Sugar Land Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PARTIAL FAILURE OF THE HYDRAULIC PUMP (POWER PACK).
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 11, 1993 · about 8:10 pm local time
- Place
- Sugar Land, Texas · Sugar Land Municipal · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild SA227-AC · all SA227-ACs on the register
- Registration
- N688NE · no longer on the register · serial AC-688
- 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
ON FINAL APPROACH, THE LANDING GEAR WAS EXTENDED, CHECKED DOWN AND LOCKED, AND THREE GREEN LIGHTS WERE NOTED. THIS WAS CORROBORATED BY THE COCKPIT VOICE RECORDER. WHEN THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN, THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR EITHER COLLAPSED OR RETRACTED. THE LANDING GEAR ACTUATOR RODS, ROD ENDS, DOWN LOCK ROLLERS, AND CAMS WERE UNDAMAGED. DURING POST-INCIDENT EXAMINATION, THE HYDRAULIC POWER PACK MADE A LOUD NOISE AND HYDRAULIC PRESSURE FLUCTUATED BETWEEN 500 AND 1,200 PSI. NO DISCREPANCIES WERE NOTED WHEN THE HYDRAULIC POWER PACK WAS FUNCTIONALLY TESTED AND INTERNALLY INSPECTED. PROCEDURAL ERRORS WERE MADE THAT MIGHT HAVE INVALIDATED THE TEST RESULTS.
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, flight engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 13,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 210 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 11,000 as pilot in command; 1,800 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 14,600 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Conquest Airlines Corporation
The flight
- Departed from: AUS Austin TX at 7:30 pm
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 17, 8,000 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:13 pm from SGR
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 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.