Swearingen SA227-AC accident near Yuma, Arizona, January 10, 1987
On January 10, 1987 at about 7:30 am local time, a Swearingen SA227-AC, registered N165SW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Yuma, Arizona (Yuma Int'L 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 10, 1987 · about 7:30 am local time · cases in 1987
- Place
- Yuma, Arizona · Yuma Int'L · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA227-AC · all SA227-ACs on the register
- Registration
- N165SW · registry record · serial AC514
- Damage
- Substantial 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 LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR RETRACTED AFTER A NORMAL LANDING AND THE AIRCRAFT SWERVED OFF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY INTO THE DIRT. CREWMEMBERS STATED THAT THEY OBSERVED THREE GREEN LANDING GEAR POSITION LIGHTS PRIOR TO TOUCH DOWN AND THAT, AFTER THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO A STOP, THE LEFT GEAR IN TRANSIT LIGHT HAD COME ON AND THE GREEN LIGHT WAS OFF. INSPECTION REVEALED NO MALFUNCTION OR PRE-ACCIDENT DEFECT OF THE LANDING GEAR SYSTEM.
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: 4,542 hours in all; 1,425 in this make and model; 265 in the last 90 days; 4,542 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,767 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 1, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 22
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-11461 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Sky West Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: IPL Imperial CA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 35, 5,170 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 340° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.
Other NTSB records under N165SW the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N165SW on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Swearingen SA227 31 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Swearingen 88 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-11461 7 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Imperial County · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Arizona 2,985 since 1982 · 466 in the last ten years
- Arizona 8,435 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N165SW 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/LAX87LA086.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.