Swearingen SA-226 accident near Emporia, Kansas, September 1, 1988
On September 1, 1988 at about 3:15 pm local time, a Swearingen SA-226, registered N257AM, suffered minor damage in an accident near Emporia, Kansas (Emporia airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured; 3 others were unhurt. 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
- September 1, 1988 · about 3:15 pm local time
- Place
- Emporia, Kansas · Emporia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured; 3 others were unhurt.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA-226 · all SA-226s on the register
- Registration
- N257AM · registry record · serial TC-389
- 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
WHILE CRUISING AT 17,000 FT, THE 1ST OFFICER'S RGT WINDOW PANEL FAILED & BLEW OUTWARD. A CABIN DECOMPRESSION OCCURRED & THE COPILOT WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED. THE CAPTAIN IMMEDIATELY DESCENDED TO 10,000 FT & CONTINUED TO THEIR DESTINATION WHERE AN OTHERWISE UNEVENTFUL LANDING WAS MADE.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 7,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 240 in the last 90 days; 80 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 16,269 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, August 15, 1988; 113 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 19
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE-331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Air Midwest
The flight
- Departed from: ICT Wichita KS at 2:34 pm
- Destination: MCI Kansas City MO
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 25,000 ft; scat at 16,000 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:49 pm from MCI, 80 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 1 | ||
| Passengers | 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.