Swearingen SA-227 accident near Kalispell, Montana, December 31, 1990
On December 31, 1990 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Swearingen SA-227, registered N385PH, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kalispell, Montana (Glacier Int'L airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 15 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE FLIGHT CREW'S INABLITY TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL AFTER LANDING IN SNOW-DEPTH CONDITIONS THAT HAD BEEN ERRONEOUSLY REPORTED AS BEING WITHIN OPERATING LIMITATIONS.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 31, 1990 · about 5:30 pm local time · cases in 1990
- Place
- Kalispell, Montana · Glacier Int'L · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 15 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Swearingen SA-227 · all SA-227s on the register
- Registration
- N385PH · registry record · serial AC-595
- 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
THE CREW OF THE SA-227 COMMUTER AIRLINER LOST DIRCTIONAL CONTROL AFTER LANDING IN SNOW THAT WAS REPORTEDLY BETWEEN FIVE AND TEN INCHES DEEP. THE CREW HAD REQUESTED A SNOW-DEPTH REPORT, WHICH WAS RELAYED TO THEM BY AN AIRPORT SNOWPLOW OPERATOR, THROUGH THE AIRLINE'S OPERATIONS PERSONNEL. THE SNOW DEPTH HAD BEEN REPORTED AS ONE INCH AT THAT TIME. THE AIRCRAFT DRIFTED OFF THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE RUNWAY, CAUSING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE FUSELAGE.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,500 hours in all; 1,230 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 5,950 as pilot in command; 725 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 0 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 14,500 lb
- Seats: 21
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-11U (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Horizon Airlines
The flight
- Departed from: GEG Spokane WA at 4:49 pm
- Destination: FCA Kalispell MT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 2, 8,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 18°F (-8°C), dew point 16°F (-9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:50 pm from FCA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 13 |
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 N385PH the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N385PH on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Swearingen SA227 31 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Swearingen 88 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-11U 12 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Spokane International · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Montana 1,121 since 1982 · 166 in the last ten years
- Montana 6,041 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N385PH 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/SEA91LA040.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.