# Incident 20120117000609I: Aero Commander 500-B, Eden Prairie, MN, January 17, 2012

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: January 17, 2012, 23:08 local time
- Place: Eden Prairie, MN
- Airport: Flying Cloud
- Damage: No damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
- Operator: ZJWA
- Location: 44.8275° N, 93.4586° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at FLYING CLOUD (FCM), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.8275&lon=-93.4586&mi=10
- Aircraft: N444CA, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N444CA) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aero Commander 500-B (registry code 0141106, https://openairdocs.org/model/aero-commander-500-b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming TI0-540 series (registry code 41533, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-ti0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AERO COMMANDER 500-B
- Reported engine: LYCOMING TI0-540 SER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 2,100 total, 697 in this make and model, 204 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120117000609I

## Narrative

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

DURING CLIMB FROM FCM THE  PILOT NOTICED RPM DROP FOR THE LEFT ENGINE FOLLOWED BY OTHER GUAGES FOR THE LEFT SIDE ALSO DROPPING. MINNEAPOLIS APPROACH WAS CONTACTED AND POWER LOSS WAS INDICATED.  THE LEFT ENGINE WAS FEATHERED. THE LEFT ENGINE WAS ALSO SHUT DOWN AS A PRECAUTION.  THE AIRCRAFT RETURNED TO FCM AND LANDED WITHOUT FURTHER EVENT.  IT WAS REPORTED THAT THE CRANK CASE OF THE ENGINE HAD CRACKED.

## Other reports on N444CA (1)

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

- [Accident 20260317005219A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260317005219A), Mar 17, 2026: Aero Commander 500-B (N444CA), Chesterfield, MO, Destroyed, 1 fatal. The airman departed runway 26L at ksus on a part 135 cargo flight. After rotation, the aircraft pitched up abruptly, consistent with an apparent pitch control…

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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