Swearingen SA-226-TC incident near Berkeley, Missouri, February 14, 1985
On February 14, 1985 at about 2:40 am local time, a Swearingen SA-226-TC, registered N328BA, was involved in an incident near Berkeley, Missouri (Lambert-St.Louis Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 3 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
- February 14, 1985 · about 2:40 am local time
- Place
- Berkeley, Missouri · Lambert-St.Louis Int'L · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA-226-TC · all SA-226-TCs on the register
- Registration
- N328BA · no longer on the register · serial TC-253
- 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
CREW ACCOMPLISHED DESCENT CHECKLIST. CHECKLIST WAS APPROVED MANUFACTURER'S CHECKLIST. DESCENT WAS MADE THROUGH 2500 FOOTTHICK CLOUDS WITH OAT BELOW FREEZING WITHOUT AUTO-IGNITION SWITCH ON AUTO/CONTINUOUS POSITION. BOTH ENGINES QUIT ON FINAL APPROACH. AIRPLANE WAS LANDED WITHOUT DAMAGE. COMPANY CONCLUDED THAT FLAMEOUTS CAUSED BY ICE INGESTION.
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, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,345 hours in all; 1,109 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 9,637 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, February 13, 1985; 7 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 125,000 lb
- Seats: 22
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett 331-10UA-SHG (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Britt Airways, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: SPI Springfield IL at 2:00 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 24, 7,600 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 310° at 18 knots, gusting 27
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:00 am from STL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| 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 N328BA 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.