Amateur-built SD3-60 incident near Miami, Florida, May 9, 1997
On May 9, 1997 at about 5:06 pm local time, a amateur-built SD3-60, registered N263GA, was involved in an incident near Miami, Florida (Miami International airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under scheduled airline rules (Part 121). No one was hurt; 31 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
fatigue failure of a segment of the elevator trim cable system. A factor relating to the incident was: inadequate procedure for inspection of the cable system by the airplane manufacturer.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 9, 1997 · about 5:06 pm local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami International · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 31 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SD3-60
- Registration
- N263GA · no longer on the register · serial SH3754
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · scheduled airline rules (Part 121)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the initial climb after takeoff, an elevator trim cable failure occurred at a pulley at fuselage station 275. The flight remained airborne to burn fuel, then landed uneventfully. Metallurgical examination of the failed cable revealed that 42 of the 49 individual wires failed due to fatigue. The elevator trim cable segments were only required to be visually inspected every 4,800 hours or 48 months. The trim cable segments were last inspected 22 months earlier and had accumulated 2,456.9 hours and 2,290 cycles since inspection. The failed cable had accumulated a total time of 10,562.3 hours and 14,525 cycles at the time of the failure.
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: 5,117 hours in all; 1,121 in this make and model; 230 in the last 90 days; 140 in the last 30 days; 4,780 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,562 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 3, 1997; 39 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 27,100 lb
- Seats: 39
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT6A-67R (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Gulfstream Int'L Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: MIA at 5:05 pm
- Destination: MCO Orlando FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 100° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:04 pm from MIA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 28 |
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.