Swearingen SA-226-TC incident near Springfield, Missouri, October 17, 1986
On October 17, 1986 at about 2:18 am local time, a Swearingen SA-226-TC, registered N251AM, suffered minor damage in an incident near Springfield, Missouri (Regional airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 13 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
- October 17, 1986 · about 2:18 am local time
- Place
- Springfield, Missouri · Regional
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 13 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA-226-TC · all SA-226-TCs on the register
- Registration
- N251AM · no longer on the register · serial TC-376
- 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
DURING THE APPROACH, THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR WOULD NOT EXTEND BY NORMAL OR EMERGENCY MEANS. AIRPLANE WAS INTENTIONALLY LANDED WITH ALL LANDING GEAR RETRACTED. INSPECTION INDICATED GEAR DOORS PULLED CLOSED FARTHER THAN NORMAL DUE TO RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR ROLLER BEING STUCK BELOW THE ROLLER FOLLOWER ARM. GEARS DOORS WERE STUCK CLOSED WHICH IN TURN EFFECTIVELY LOCKED GEAR INSIDE GEAR DOORS.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,466 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,492 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, August 15, 1986; 151 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,062 lb
- Seats: 17
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-10UA (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: STL St.Louis MO at 1:08 am
- Destination: TBN Ft.Leonard Wood MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 19, 7,003 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 210° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:24 pm from SGF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 11 |
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.