Swearingen SA-226-AT accident near Jacksonville, Florida, April 27, 1989
On April 27, 1989 at about 2:45 am local time, a Swearingen SA-226-AT, registered N39RD, was substantially damaged in an accident near Jacksonville, Florida (Jacksonville airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 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 PILOT IN COMMAND TO USE THE AIRPLANE LANDING CHECKLIST AND ASSURE THAT THE LANDING GEAR WAS DOWN AND LOCKED PRIOR TO LANDING.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 27, 1989 · about 2:45 am local time
- Place
- Jacksonville, Florida · Jacksonville · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA-226-AT · all SA-226-ATs on the register
- Registration
- N39RD · no longer on the register · serial AT002
- 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 PILOT IN COMMAND OF AN ON DEMAND SINGLE PILOT AIR-TAXI CARGO FLIGHT LANDED ON THE RUNWAY WITH THE LANDING GEAR IN THE UP POSITION AND ATTEMPTED TO LOWER THE GEAR AFTER THE PROPELLERS HAD STRUCK THE GROUND.
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: 5,700 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 75 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 5,650 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,713 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, March 11, 1989; 34 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE3313U303G (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: SAV Savannah GA at 1:10 am
- Destination: JAX
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 13, 8,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 240° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:49 am from JAX
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| 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.
Other NTSB records under N39RD the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.