Aero Commander 685 N1203N

Summary

On 8 July 2000 at about 15:30 local time, a Aero Commander 685 registered N1203N was involved in an accident near Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 2000 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States

Nearest airport

Grider Field (PBF)

Coordinates

34.2105, -92.0094

Aircraft

Aero Commander 685

Registration

N1203N

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Prescott → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW00LA203

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's misjudged flare, which resulted in a hard landing. A contributing factor was the pilot's lack of total experience in the make and model of airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane entered the traffic pattern behind another aircraft, therefore, the pilot extended the downwind leg. Due to the extended downwind, the pilot did not extend the flaps abeam of the touchdown point. The pilot stated that after turning final, the VASI was red over white so he did not extend the flaps, since he was on glide path and the airspeed was 100 knots, which was the recommended speed for final approach. He further stated that 'after touchdown, which was a bit hard, the nose gear collapsed.' Examination of the runway revealed that the airplane touched down on its tail, leaving a 5-foot gouge on the runway. The airplane then touched down on its nose landing gear, leaving a 1,000-foot mark on the runway. The airplane came to a stop upright on the runway. The pilot had accumulated a total flight time of 450 hours, of which 45 hours were in multiengine airplanes, and 6 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.