Fairchild SA-227AC incident near Ontario, California, April 5, 1994
On April 5, 1994 at about 1:15 am local time, a Fairchild SA-227AC, registered N174SW, suffered minor damage in an incident near Ontario, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person had minor injuries; 11 others were unhurt. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the failure of maintenance personnel to detect a crack in the windscreen which exceeded the operational limits for pressurized flight. A factor in the accident was the inadequacy of the inspection method published by the manufacturer.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 5, 1994 · about 1:15 am local time
- Place
- Ontario, California · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries; 11 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild SA-227AC · all SA-227ACs on the register
- Registration
- N174SW · registry record · serial AC620
- 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
The aircraft was climbing at 1,000 feet per minute to a cruising altitude of 21,000 feet. Passing 19,800 feet, a loud 'bang' was heard and the captain was partially sucked through the broken left side window. After about 4 seconds, he was able to pull himself back into the aircraft unassisted. He declared an emergency and landed the aircraft without further incident. A review of the maintenance records revealed that an applicable airworthiness directive requiring an inspection of the windows was complied with within the last 143.8 flight hours. The technical representative for Fairchild stated that maintenance personnel who conducted the AD inspection and service bulletin inspections may have failed to detect the crack, due to the subtle inspection procedures employed. The approved inspection procedures allow for two methods: 1) removal of the outer frame retainer for direct viewing of the screw holes, and 2) using a 90-degree prism seated in mineral oil for an indirect view of the screw holes. The airline was using the second method.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,425 hours in all; 3,545 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 19,936 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, April 1, 1994; 13 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 14,500 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE 331-11 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Skywest Airlines INC.
The flight
- Departed from: LAX Los Angeles CA
- Destination: YUM Yuma AZ
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 1 | ||
| Passengers | 10 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX94IA181.