# Accident 19970906025549A: Gulstm 500A, Ketchikan, AK, September 6, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 6, 1997, 13:00 local time
- Place: Ketchikan, AK
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 55.6096° N, 131.5791° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=55.6096&lon=-131.5791&mi=10
- Aircraft: N543AN, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N543AN-1998-06-18) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aero Commander 500-A (registry code 0141104, https://openairdocs.org/model/aero-commander-500-a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: GULSTM 500A
- Reported engine: CONT IO470M
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 2,577 total, 81 in this make and model, 17 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC97FA143](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC97FA143) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970906025549A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

AIRCRAFT BROKE UP IN FLIGHT. CAUSE OF BREAKUP BEGIN INVESTIGATED. (FROM .4) THE AIRCRAFT HAD AN IN-FLIGHT BREAKUP WHEN THE LEFT WING AND TAIL SECTION SEPARATED.  POSTACCIDENT INSPECTION REVEALED A RIGHT ENGINE MAIN FUEL SUPPLY LINE PROGRESSIVE RUPTURE, ONLY TRACE AMOUNTS OF FUEL IN THE FUEL LINES, AND NO ROTATIONAL DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT ENGINE.  PREACCIDENT, LONG TERM, FUEL LEAK EVIDENCE SURROUNDED THE RUPTURED LINE. THE RIGHT PROPELLER WAS NOT FEATHERED. THE LEFT WING D-TUBE RIB AT STATION 127 EXHIBITED COMPRESSIVE BUCKLING.  LEFT WING FRACTURES WERE UPWARD, AND HORIZONTAL STABILIZER DEFORMATION WAS DOWNWARD. DURING AN ACTUAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER IN THE AIRPLANE 17 MONTHS BEFORE THIS ACCIDENT, THE PILOT HAD FEATHERED THE INCORRECT PROPELLER.  BOTH A MECHANIC, AND AN FAA SAFETY COUNSELOR, WHO WERE FAMILIAR WITH THE PILOT, DESCRIBED HIM AS ABLE TO BE DISORIENTED, AND RELIANT ON GPS FOR NAVIGATION. HE HAD STATED FIVE MONTHS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT THAT HE DID NOT FEEL HIS INSTRUMENT FLYING SKILLS WERE PROFICIENT, AND DESIRED TRAINING.  ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT, WEATHER WAS VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS, WITH LAYERED CLOUDS ABOVE 2,200 FEET MEAN SEA LEVEL.  THE PILOT STATED TO THE FAA WEATHER BRIEFER THAT HE WANTED TO MAKE THE FLIGHT UNDER VISUAL CONDITIONS. THE FLIGHT ROUTE AND ALTITUDE WAS UNKNOWN.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB ANC97FA143](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC97FA143), Sep 6, 1997: Aero Commander AC-500A (N543AN), Ketchikan, AK, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The rupture of the right engine fuel supply line as a result of inadequate inspection by the pilot/mechanic, and the pilot's excessive pull up which resulted in exceeding the design stress limits of…

## Other reports on N543AN (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19960402021469I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19960402021469I), Apr 2, 1996: Gulstm 500A (N543AN), Oklahoma City, OK, Minor damage. Narrative: the pilot stated that on a flight from lafayette, la to albuquerque, n.m. he stopped and refueled at okmulgee, Oklahoma. He then departed okmulgee…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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