Aero Commander 500B N712AT

Summary

On 17 January 2008 at about 04:43 local time, a Aero Commander 500B registered N712AT, operated by Central Air Southwest, was involved in an accident near Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 January 2008 at 04:43

Classification

Accident

Location

Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

Tulsa International Airport (KTUL)

Coordinates

36.2258, -95.8894

Aircraft

Aero Commander 500B

Registration

N712AT

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Central Air Southwest

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tulsa → Oklahoma City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

DFW08FA056

1 person died.

The pilot's loss of control due to spatial disorientation and the pilot exceeding the design/stress limits of the aircraft. Factors contributing to the accident were the pilot's reported gyro problem, the dark night conditions , and prevailing instrument meteorological conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot departed on a night instrument flight rules flight in actual instrument meteorological in-flight conditions. Less than 2 minutes after the airplane departed the airport, the controller observed the airplane in a right turn and instructed the pilot to report his altitude. The pilot responded he thought he was at 3,500 feet and he thought he had lost the gyros. The pilot said he was trying to level out, and when the controller informed the pilot he observed the airplane on radar making a 360-degree right turn , the pilot said "roger." Three minutes and 23 seconds after departure the pilot said "yeah, I'm having some trouble right now" and there were no further radio communications from the flight. The on scene investigation disclosed that both wings and the tail section had separated from the airframe. All fractures of the wing and wing skin were typical of ductile overload with no evidence of preexisting failures such as fatigue or stress-corrosion. The deformation of the wings indicated an upward failure due to positive loading. No anomalies were noted with the gyro instruments, engine assembly or accessories

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.