Fairchild SA-227AC incident near Oakland, California, October 29, 1994
On October 29, 1994 at about 2:45 pm local time, a Fairchild SA-227AC, registered N191AF, was involved in an incident near Oakland, California (Oakland International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the company maintenance personnel's improper installation of the aileron cable.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 29, 1994 · about 2:45 pm local time
- Place
- Oakland, California · Oakland International
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild SA-227AC · all SA-227ACs on the register
- Registration
- N191AF · no longer on the register · serial AC-491
- 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
THE PILOT EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF AILERON CONTROL SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF. THE PILOT RETURNED TO THE AIRPORT AND LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER INCIDENT. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THE CABLE BROKE NEAR ITS 90-DEGREE ATTACH PULLEYS. THE SAFETY BOARD MATERIALS LABORATORY CONDUCTED A METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION OF THE CABLE'S FRACTURED SURFACES. THE EXAMINATION REVEALED THE CABLE SEPARATED DUE TO HIGH-STRESS/LOW-CYCLE FATIGUE CRACKING. MOST WIRE ENDS IN THE VICINITY OF THE SEPARATION WERE SEVERELY BENT. SUCH DAMAGE WOULD MOST LIKELY BE PRODUCED BY A KINK IN THE CABLE. A CABLE KINK CREATES VERY HIGH TENSILE STRESSES ALONG THE OUTSIDE OF THE KINK AND WOULD GENERATE PREMATURE HIGH-STRESS FATIGUE CRACKING. THE 15 HOURS OF TIME SINCE INSTALLATION IS CONSISTENT WITH SOME SORT OF SEVERE CONDITION SUCH AS A KINK. THE MECHANIC MOST LIKELY INSTALLED THE CABLE WITH ONE END TWISTED COMPARED WITH THE OTHER END.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,200 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 22,395 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 12, 1994; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 14,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-11U (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OAK at 3:44 pm
- Destination: RNO Reno NV
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.