Swearingen SA226-TC accident near Palm Springs, California, May 29, 1982
On May 29, 1982 at about 3:40 am local time, a Swearingen SA226-TC, registered N1009R, suffered minor damage in an accident near Palm Springs, California (Palm Springs airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 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 accident. 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
- May 29, 1982 · about 3:40 am local time
- Place
- Palm Springs, California · Palm Springs
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA226-TC · all SA226-TCs on the register
- Registration
- N1009R · registry record · serial TC-358
- 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
AFTER STARTING THE ENGINES AT NIGHT, A SIGNAL WAS GIVEN TO A LINE SERVICE EMPLOYEE TO DISCONNECT THE APU. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO DISCONNECT THE APU, THE LINE SERVICE EMPLOYEE MOVED INTO THE PATH OF THE RIGHT PROPELLER AND WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED.
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
- Flight time: 3,150 hours in all; 1,500 in this make and model; 260 in the last 90 days; 2,100 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,428 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,062 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: TPE331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PSP Palm Springs CA at 8:40 pm
- Destination: Yuma AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.