Aero Commander 500-B N1HV

Summary

On 1 November 2002 at about 17:30 local time, a Aero Commander 500-B registered N1HV, operated by James C. Rogers, was involved in an accident near Rayville, Louisiana, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 November 2002 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Rayville, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

32.5106, -91.7503

Aircraft

Aero Commander 500-B

Registration

N1HV

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

James C. Rogers

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Monroe → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW03FA027

3 people died.

The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain adequate airspeed resulting in an inadvertent stall/spin.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The twin-engine airplane was observed at a low altitude of approximately 1,000 feet agl performing power off stall maneuvers. The witness described the first stall maneuver initiation and recovery as "good." During the second stall maneuver, the nose rose higher than it did during the first maneuver, the right wing dropped, followed by a steep nose down attitude. The airplane rotated about one and one half revolutions before disappearing behind trees. Prior to ground impact, the witness heard the engines rev up. The purpose of the flight was to demonstrate the airplane to a prospective buyer. A radar and aircraft performance study indicated that the accident airplane departed the airport and began a series of heading, speed and altitude changes ultimately crashing 14.6 nautical miles east of the departure airport. During several time periods, calculations of the calibrated airspeed indicated a trend towards and below published stall speeds of 63 knots flaps extended and 71 knots flaps retracted. No structural or mechanical anomalies were observed during an examination of the airplane and engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.