Fairchild SA227-AC accident near Tyler, Texas, March 12, 1998
On March 12, 1998 at about 1:40 am local time, a Fairchild SA227-AC, registered N730C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tyler, Texas (Tyler Pounds Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the golf cart's driver to shutdown the engine and set the parking brake before exiting, which resulted in an unmanned runaway cart.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 12, 1998 · about 1:40 am local time
- Place
- Tyler, Texas · Tyler Pounds Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild SA227-AC · all SA227-ACs on the register
- Registration
- N730C · registry record · serial AC-697
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At night, while taxiing to parking after landing, an unmanned runaway golf cart being used as a lead-in vehicle, collided with the airplane. Witnesses observed the golf cart's driver get out of the cart and the cart continue moving. The driver attempted to stop the cart; however, she was unsuccessful. The cart circled an aircraft 2 or 3 times then veered off and ricocheted off a fence. The pilots reported that they were approximately 50 feet from their intended stopping point, when they observed a golf cart that appeared to be paralleling the fence. At that time they did not perceive it as a hazard. The golf cart then made an 'immediate' change of direction and headed towards their aircraft. After the cart made the change of direction, the pilots observed that the cart was unmanned. They immediately initiated emergency shutdown procedures; however, the cart collided with the left engine's propeller before it could be shutdown.
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 single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,200 hours in all; 2,600 in this make and model; 160 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days; 1,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 14,609 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, March 5, 1998; 36 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 14,500 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE331-11 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AUS Austin TX
- Destination: TYR
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 360° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:50 am from TYR
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
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.