- Date
- November 23, 1992, 19:47 local (Nov 24, 1992, 01:47 UTC)
- Place
- Mccook, NE
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N777CMAero Commander 500-B
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921123047649A
- Case key
- 15630
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 decision to depart in known adverse weather conditions. The icing conditions and structural ice were factors.
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 accident airplane crashed on airport property after reporting the airport in sight during a night IFR approach. The pilot reported the weather at the time of departure was 500 feet overcast with visibility restricted to 1.5 miles in freezing drizzle. The pilot reported he was unable to reach his assigned altitude of 9000 feet because of structural icing. He also reported an uncommanded decrease in RPM in the left engine during the en route climb. He reported to ATC he could not maintain altitude and requested an 'immediate' return to his departure airport. The pilot reported the airplane stalled as he was turning from left base to final for the landing runway. He recovered from the stall and decided to 'place' the aircraft in a field. The pilot reported another stall, 'a few feet above the ground and crashed.' A post accident inspection revealed ice buildups on the leading edge of all airfoil surfaces and the underside of the wings. No mechanical defects were discovered in the left engine or propeller system.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N777CM
- Reported as
- Aero Commander 500-B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 500B-1179-92
- Airframe hours
- 16,474
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-540-E1A5, 290 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 135
- Operator
- Dewey Towner, doing business as Central Air Southwest
- Registered owner
- Central Air Sw
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- AAIP · November 12, 1992 · 17 hours before
- Destination
- HSI · Hastings, NE
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- MCK · Mccook Municipal
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
- 27
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 3,010 total · 760 in this make and model · 2,730 as pilot in command · 235 in the last 90 days · 77 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 50° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 1 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 28 °F, dew point 27 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MCK, 1 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.