Aero Commander 685 N3711T

Summary

On 20 July 1983 at about 19:22 local time, a Aero Commander 685 registered N3711T, operated by Technical Computer Services, was involved in an accident near Cleveland, Ohio, United States. 6 people were on board and 6 died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

20 July 1983 at 19:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Nearest airport

Cleveland Hopkins

Coordinates

41.4300, -81.8209

Aircraft

Aero Commander 685

Registration

N3711T

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Technical Computer Services

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Executive/Corporate

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Akron → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI83AA326

6 people died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

WHILE TURNING FROM DOWNWIND TO BASE LEG, THE ACFT WAS OBSERVED DESCENDING RAPIDLY IN A STEEP BANK. WITNESSES REPORTED SMOKE WAS TRAILING FROM THE ACFT. THE ACFT CRASHED IN AN INDUSTRIAL AREA. AN EXAM OF THE RIGHT ENG REVEALED THAT THE EXHAUST-TO-TURBO ADAPTER, PN 641829, HAD FRACTURED & SEPARATED. THE FRACTURE WAS A RESULT OF THERMAL FATIGUE & IT HAD PROPAGATED ACROSS MORE THAN 95% OF THE AREA BEFORE FINAL SEPARATION HAD OCCURRED. SINCE AN EXAM OF THE COWLING & BOTH ENGINES SHOWED NO STREAKING HEAT OR SMOKE PATTERNS, THE REPORTED 'SMOKE' WAS ATTRIBUTED TO EXHAUST GAS. WHILE THERE WAS A LOSS OF POWER IN THE RIGHT ENG, NO OTHER ACFT MALFUNCTIONS WERE FOUND THAT WOULD HAVE CAUSED LOSS OF CONTROL.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.