Swearingen SA 226TC accident near St. Louis, Missouri, February 25, 1983
On February 25, 1983 at about 1:16 am local time, a Swearingen SA 226TC, registered N237AM, suffered minor damage in an accident near St. Louis, Missouri (Lambert-St. Louis Intl. airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured; 9 others were unhurt. 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 October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 25, 1983 · about 1:16 am local time
- Place
- St. Louis, Missouri · Lambert-St. Louis Intl. · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 9 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA 226TC · all SA 226TCs on the register
- Registration
- N237AM · registry record · serial TC332
- 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
ROTATING RIGHT PROP STRUCK A FEMALE CHILD PASSENGER WHO HAD RUN DOWN THE ACFT AIRSTAIR TO RETRIEVE A DOLL SHE HAD DROPPED WHILE CLIMBING THE AIRSTAIR TO BOARD FOR THE FLT. A COMPANY ATTENDANT WAS STATIONED AT THE LEFT (STOPPED) PROP, BUT NOT ON OR NEAR THE AIRSTAIR, TO ASSIST THE PASSENGERS. THE OPERATOR HAD NO PROCEDURES GOVERNING THE OPERATION OF ENGINES DURING ENPLANING & DEPLANING. BOARDING PROCEDURES WERE SKETCHY, BUT HAVE BEEN CHANGED SINCE THE ACCIDENT TO REQUIRE A CREWMEMBER BE ON THE BOARDING STAIRS PRIOR TO BOARDING PASSENGERS.
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: 6,534 hours in all; 4,209 in this make and model; 233 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 5,599 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,470 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, February 18, 1983
- Maximum gross weight: 10,062 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch 331-3UW-30-3G (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Midwest
The flight
- Departed from: COU Columbia MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 340° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 3,800 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 30°F (-1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:46 am from STL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 7 |
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 N237AM 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.