Fairchild SA227-AC incident near Austin, Texas, February 27, 1995
On February 27, 1995 at about 2:05 pm local time, a Fairchild SA227-AC, registered N369AE, was involved in an incident near Austin, Texas (Robert Mueller Municipal airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 13 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 FAILURE OF THE MISROUTED RUDDER CONTROL CABLE DUE TO IMPROPER INSTALLATION DURING SCHEDULED REPLACEMENT TO COMPLY WITH AN AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 27, 1995 · about 2:05 pm local time
- Place
- Austin, Texas · Robert Mueller Municipal · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 13 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild SA227-AC · all SA227-ACs on the register
- Registration
- N369AE · no longer on the register · serial AC-697
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE FLARING TO LAND, THE RUDDER CABLE FOR THE LEFT RUDDER SEVERED DUE TO IMPROPER ROUTING DURING THE SCHEDULED REPLACEMENT OF THE CONTROL CABLES IN COMPLIANCE WITH AN AIRWORTHINESS DIRECTIVE. THE FLIGHT CREW REPORTED HEARING A POPPING SOUND FOLLOWED BY THE RUDDER PEDAL DEFLECTING TO THE STOP. CONTROL WAS MAINTAINED AND A NORMAL LANDING COMPLETED.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,500 hours in all; 2,500 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 200 in the last 30 days; 8,000 as pilot in command; 140 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,427 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, February 8, 1995; 90 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 14,600 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE 331-11U (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Conquest Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: TYL Tyler TX at 1:10 pm
- Destination: AUS
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13R, 7,269 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 2.5 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,200 ft; scat at 400 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:55 pm from AUS, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 11 |
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.