NTSB DEN83LA065 — 1983-02-17 · MADISON, South Dakota, United States

N737EF has since been reassigned. It is now registered to a different aircraft (BEDE AIRCRAFT INC BD-5B, built 2003), which was not involved in this event.

Aircraft involved

N737EF Swearingen SA-26T None

Factual narrative

THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH A SNOWBANK 10 FEET BEYOND THE THRESHOLD DURING LANDING. AFTER THE ACCIDENT THE PILOT REPORTEDTHAT DURING THE FINAL APPROACH TO A LANDING ON RUNWAY 32, THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR CONTACTED A 2 FOOT HIGH SNOWBANK JUST BEYOND THE THRESHOLD LIGHTS. THE SCISSORS ASSEMBLY OF THE LEFT MAIN GEAR WAS BROKEN AND ALLOWED THE WHEEL TO ROTATE360 DEGREES ON THE AXIS OF THE STRUT. DIRECTIONAL CONTROL WAS MAINTAINED AND THE ACFT REMAINED ON THE RUNWAY. AT FIRST DAMAGE WAS THOUGHT TO BE MINIMAL. AFTER FURTHER INSPECTION FOR REPAIRS TO THE STRUCTURE THE DAMAGE WAS FOUND TO BE SUBSTANTIAL. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1983_DEN83LA065.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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