Embraer EMB-120 incident near Springfield, Missouri, January 23, 1987
On January 23, 1987 at about 1:18 pm local time, a Embraer EMB-120, registered N120AM, suffered minor damage in an incident near Springfield, Missouri (Springfield Regional). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 10 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 23, 1987 · about 1:18 pm local time
- Place
- Springfield, Missouri · Springfield Regional · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 10 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Embraer EMB-120 · all EMB-120s on the register
- Registration
- N120AM · registry record · serial 120.012
- 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
THE PIC OF THIS AIR MIDWEST FLT 4408 SAID THAT, WHILE ON INITIAL CLIMB, POWER (NP) ON THE LEFT ENGINE DECAYED TO 60% AND WOULD NOT RECOVER. THE ENGINE WAS FEATHERED BY CONDITION LEVER BUT THE TORQUE ROSE TO 140% WHILE RETURNING FOR A LANDING, ACCORDING TO THE PIC. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED SAFELY. A POST-INCIDENT INVESTIGATION DISCLOSED THAT AN OIL LEAK HAD BEEN TRACED, THE DAY PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT, TO A FRACTURED PROPELLER CONTROL UNIT SOLENOID. THAT PART WAS REMOVED AND REPLACED AS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE. THE PLASTIC BLADE RETAINING RINGS INSIDE THE PROPELLER ASSY WERE DAMAGED DUE TO THE ENGINE OVERTORQUE AND SUBSEQUENT SHUTDOWN. A TEARDOWN OF THE PROPELLER CONTROL UNIT (PCU) SHOWED THAT THE BETA TUBE HAD NOT FAILED NOR WAS IT FREEWHEELING INSIDE THE PCU. A SPECTROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF OIL SAMPLES, DRAWN FROM FOUR SEPARATE SECTIONS OF THE ENGINE, TESTED SATIFACTORILY. AS SUCH, NO REASON COULD BE FOUND FOR THE DROP IN ENGINE POWER (NP) AND SUBSEQUENT OVERTORQUE.
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 engineer
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,150 hours in all; 8,850 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme
- Maximum gross weight: 25,353 lb
- Seats: 32
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PW115 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SGF Springfield MO at 1:10 pm
- Destination: BNA Nashville TN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 1, 7,003 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 350° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 12,000 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 19°F (-7°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:10 pm from SGF, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
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.