Aero Commander S2R N5521X

Summary

On 15 August 2018 at about 16:45 local time, a Aero Commander S2R registered N5521X, operated by Olsem Aerial Application Service, was involved in an accident near Westbrook, Minnesota, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 August 2018 at 16:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Westbrook, Minnesota, United States

Nearest airport

Rolling Hills (3MN4)

Coordinates

43.9508, -95.3783

Aircraft

Aero Commander S2R

Registration

N5521X

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Operator

Olsem Aerial Application Service

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Westbrook → Westbrook

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA332

1 person had minor injuries.

A runway excursion during takeoff for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot reported that the airplane experienced a loss of engine power at rotation during takeoff. The airplane cleared a soybean field off the end of the runway and then a two-lane road before entering a corn field on the opposite side of the road. The airplane traveled about 300 ft into the corn field with 8-ft-tall corn before nosing over and coming to rest. A postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a loss of engine power or a mechanical failure or malfunction of the flight control system. Engine monitor data revealed that the accident takeoff was the fifth takeoff of the day. At the beginning of the takeoff, the engine speed and torque increased smoothly to full power. About 50 seconds after the takeoff began, the engine speed and torque decreased abruptly over 3 or 4 seconds consistent with the encounter with the corn field. The distance that the airplane traveled into the corn field was consistent with normal acceleration under full engine power during the takeoff run. The engine monitor data revealed that the engine was producing full power until encountering the corn field with no evidence of a loss of engine power. Thus, because the available evidence indicated that the airplane was operating normally at the time of the accident, the investigation was unable to determine why the runway excursion occurred.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.