Swearingen SA227 Metro III crash, May 3, 2005 (2 killed)
Swearingen SA227 Metro III accident on May 3, 2005 near Stratford, Taranaki Regional Council, New Zealand with 2 fatalities. Cause: Autopilot...
- Date: May 3, 2005
- Aircraft: Swearingen SA227 Metro III
- Location: Stratford, Taranaki Regional Council, New Zealand
- Fatalities: 2
- Phase of flight: En route
- Cause: Autopilot disengagement during in-flight fuel balancing with rudder trim, leading to an upset that the crew could not recover from before structural limits were exceeded.
A Metro III night freight flight from Auckland to Blenheim was flown with the autopilot engaged while the captain had the first officer use rudder trim to balance fuel. The autopilot disengaged and the aircraft rolled into a spiral dive that exceeded its structural limits, and it broke up in flight over farmland near Stratford. Both crew died. The in-flight fire happened after the breakup.