Fairchild SA-227 accident near Springfield, Missouri, April 7, 1987
On April 7, 1987 at about 2:30 am local time, a Fairchild SA-227, registered N26863, was substantially damaged in an accident near Springfield, Missouri. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 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 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
- April 7, 1987 · about 2:30 am local time
- Place
- Springfield, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Fairchild SA-227 · all SA-227s on the register
- Registration
- N26863 · no longer on the register · serial 2713908
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON APRIL 6, 1987 A CREW OPERATING A METRO III, COMMUTER ACFT NOTICED DAMAGE ON BOTH ENG NACELLES DURING A PREFLT INSP. THE COMMUTER OPERATOR CHIEF PILOT WAS NOTIFIED AND AN ON SITE INSP WAS MADE. THE CREW ORIGINALLY RPTNG THE DAMAGE CLAIMED THEY WERE NOT AT FAULT AND HAD NO PREVIOUS FLTS THAT RESULTED IN ANY HARD LNDGS. A SAMPLING OF PAX'S WERE QUESTIONED ABT LNDGS DURING THEIR FLTS. THE PAX'S WERE NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM THAT ANY HARD LNDGS HAD OCCURRED. ANOTHER CREW KNOWN TO HAVE OPERATED THE ACFT ON THE PREVIOUS DAY NOTIFIED THE CHF PILOT THAT THEY HAD A 'FIRM' LNDG AT SPRINGFLD, ILL., BUT DISCOVERED NO DAMAGE DURING TWO SEPARATE POST FLT INSP'S. FLIGHT CREWS WHO OPERATED THE ACDNT ACFT AFTER THE 'FIRM' LNDG WHICH OCCURRED ON APRIL 5, CLAIMED TO HAVE OPERATED THE ACDNT ACFT WITHIN NORMAL PARAMETERS OBSVRNG NO DAMAGE DURING POST FLT INSP'S.
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
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 567 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme; 13 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 14,500 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Resort Air,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: PIA Peoria IL
- Flight plan: not recorded
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.