- Date
- April 5, 1989, 16:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Southern Pines, NC
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N685RBAero Commander 685
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 2, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890405006199A
- Case key
- 8010
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's improper use of the mixture controls which resulted in engine roughness and the failure to properly execute the emergency procedure for a rough engine by placing the fuel boost pump switch in the low position.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The plt reported that during cruise flight an eng began running rough. He put the fuel boost pump switch in the high boost position and advanced the throttle, mixture, and prop levers to max. This resulted in a loss of pwr on both engs. The acft touched down hard short of the runway during the forced landing and collided with trees. The acft flt manual stated that the mixture must be adjusted at reduced power settings to avoid a rich mixture. The emerg procedures in the flt manual cautions that a rough running eng may be due to too rich of a mixture.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N685RB
- Reported as
- Aero Commander 685
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 12059
- Airframe hours
- 1,791
- Engine
- Continental GTSIO-520-K1B, 435 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Tcr Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 19, 1989 · 21 hours before
- Departed
- RDU · Raleigh, NC
- Destination
- DNL · Augusta, GA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- SOP · Moore County, runway 23, 5,503 × 150 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 44
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,000 total · 69 in this make and model · 5,000 as pilot in command · 133 in the last 90 days · 42 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,500 ft broken
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- POB, 18 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.