# NTSB ATL95LA152: Aero Commander 100-180, N4066X, Ocracoke, NC, August 11, 1995 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Serious injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 11, 1995, 16:10 local (20:10 UTC) - Place: Ocracoke, NC - Location: 35.0732° N, 75.9985° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Ocracoke, NC, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.0732&lon=-75.9985&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Serious injuries - Injuries: 1 serious, 3 minor - Status: Completed, report March 21, 1996 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 3610 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ATL95LA152 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/3610/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL95LA152 ## Probable cause A SHATTERED WINDSHIELD WHICH PRECLUDED MAINTAINING LEVEL FLIGHT DUE TO INCREASED AERODYNAMIC DRAG. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Airframe/component/system failure/malfunction, cruise - normal - window,flight compartment window/windshield - burst (cause) - Forced landing, descent - emergency - altitude - not possible, pilot in command - Nose over, landing - roll - terrain condition - none suitable ## Analysis While in cruise flight over marshy terrain, the center portion of the aircraft's windshield imploded, forcing open the cabin door. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude and could not glide to dry land, therefore he elected to force land in the salt marsh. During the Landing roll, the aircraft nosed over. According to the passengers, when they boarded the airplane they noted that the windscreen was cracked. However, the crack was adjacent to a door post, not the center of the windscreen. Initially, the pilot believed that the airplane had been struck by a bird. Postaccident examination of the wreckage did not reveal any evidence of a bird strike. A similar windscreen implosion occurrence, involving the same make and model airplane, was located in the FAA's Service Difficulty Reports. The report stated that during level flight the upper half of the windshield broke away, first inward, then the pilot pushed it outward. Aircraft control was affected, and a forced landing was accomplished, without causing substantial damage. ## Factual narrative On August 11, 1995, at 1610 eastern daylight time, an Aero Commander 100-180, N4066X, nosed over in a marsh during an emergency landing eight miles southwest of Mitchell Field on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. The on-demand air taxi flight operated under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 135, with a visual flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The commercial pilot and two passengers received minor injuries; the third passenger received serious injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The revenue flight departed Greenville, North Carolina, at 1500 hours. The pilot reported that about eight miles southwest of the destination airport, the center portion of the pilot's windshield separated from the airplane, spraying glass into the cockpit,and forcing open the right door. He was unable to maintain altitude, and initiated a forced landing to the marshy terrain that was below the flight path. The airplane touched down in the marsh, and nosed over. Two of the passengers stated that prior to enplaning the aircraft, they noticed what appeared to be a crack in the windshield adjacent to the door post. The FAA inspector's report stated that there no indication of a bird strike was found,(ie. no feathers, blood or entrails in the windshield cavity, cockpit area, or glare shield), and that the crack in the windshield was insignificant in regards to the imploded windscreen. Service Difficulty Report Data were obtained from the FAA. One other occurrence of a windshield implosion was found in the data. It reported that during level flight the upper half of the windshield broke away, first inward, then the pilot pushed the windshield outward. Aircraft control was affected, according to the report, and the pilot made an unscheduled landing. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N4066X](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4066X-1995-12-07), registration cancelled 1995-12-07, S/N 5166 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AERO COMMANDER 100-180 - Registry model: [Aero Commander 100-180](https://openairdocs.org/model/aero-commander-100-180) (registry code 0140208) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 5166 - Airframe hours: 2189 - Engines: LYCOMING O-360-A2F 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Part 135 - Operator: Pelican Airways, doing business as - - Registered owner: Philemon K. / Norma C. Platt - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: 100 hour, October 5, 1994, 89 hours before - Departed: PGV, GREENVILLE, NC - Destination: 8W5 - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: 8W5, Billy Mitchel, runway 6, 3,000 × 60 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 57; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 18,000 total, 600 in this make and model, 17,900 as pilot in command, 95 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days, 3 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 40° at 15 knots, gusting 21 - Visibility: 7 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 70 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: MQI, 40 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19950811023049A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19950811023049A), Aug 11, 1995: Slinds 100180, Hatteras, NC, Substantial damage. Wind shield imploded in flight. Forced open door. Landed in swamp. Nosed over. Crack in windshield prior implosion. ## Other investigations on N4066X (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 MKC72DCJ09](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MKC72DCJ09), Jul 26, 1971: Aero Comdr 100 (N4066X), Atkinson, NE, substantial damage 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.