Swearingen SA226TC incident near St. Louis, Missouri, January 4, 1985
On January 4, 1985 at about 10:10 pm local time, a Swearingen SA226TC, registered N322BA, was involved in an incident near St. Louis, Missouri. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved. 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 incident. 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
- January 4, 1985 · about 10:10 pm local time
- Place
- St. Louis, Missouri · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 5 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA226TC · all SA226TCs on the register
- Registration
- N322BA · registry record · serial TC261
- 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
AFTER DEPARTING ST LOUIS AND REACHING CRUISE FLT THE CREW EXPERIENCED A CONTINUAL TRIM PITCH-UP WHICH HAD TO BE RELIEVED BY A REDUCED AIRSPEED. NO AURAL INDICATION WAS NOTED BY THE CREW. THE RETURN TO THE AIRPORT WAS UNEVENTFUL. FOLLOW-UP INSPECTION OF THE TRIM SYSTEM REVEALED A OUT OF TOLERANCE TRIM ACTUATOR WITH 355 OPERATIONAL HOURS SINCE O-TIME OVERHAUL. NORMAL LIFE FOR A TRIM ACTUATOR IS ABT 2000 HOURS. THIS UNIT WAS CERTIFIED AS O-TIME BY AN FAA CERTIFIED SHOP. A TEARDOWN INSPECTION OF THE TRIM ACTUATOR UNIT REVEALED THAT THE UNIT WAS NOT OVERHAULED TO SPECIFICATIONS OF THE UNIT MANUFACTURER. THE TRIM ACTUATOR WAS INADEQUATE FOR OPERATION AS OVERHAULED.
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
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 13,923 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 17
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE3313UW303G (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: STL St. Louis MO at 10:00 pm
- Destination: Evansville IN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:48 pm from STL, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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 N322BA 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.