- Date
- December 12, 1986, 03:24 local (08:24 UTC)
- Place
- Hagerstown, IN
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N116CAAero Commander 500B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 10, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19861212067339A
- Case key
- 13608
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 pilot was on the fourth leg of a night cargo flight cruising at approximately 500' AGL enroute to Mt. Vernon, IL, when the aircraft struck some trees and subsequently collided with the ground. The engines and propellers were both torn down and tested and no evidence of malfunction was discovered. The pilot stated he did not recall the crash sequence at all. The pilot was wearing a 'walkman' radio at the time of the accident. He stated it was to help keep him awake, because he had fallen asleep at times in the past while flying night cargo.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N116CA
- Reported as
- Aero Commander 500B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 500B-1133-75
- Airframe hours
- 11,034
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-E1A5, 290 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Part 135
- Registered owner
- Central Airlines, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · October 30, 1986 · 118 hours before
- Departed
- CAK · Akron, OH
- Destination
- CPS · East St. Louis, IL
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
- 29
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,150 total · 200 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 22° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 27 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DAY
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.