Aero Commander S2R N1734S

Summary

On 12 June 2009 at about 21:23 local time, a Aero Commander S2R registered N1734S, operated by Frank's Flying Service, was involved in an accident near Cordova, Illinois, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 June 2009 at 21:23

Classification

Accident

Location

Cordova, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Frank's Flying Service (4IL5)

Coordinates

41.6928, -90.3072

Aircraft

Aero Commander S2R

Registration

N1734S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Frank's Flying Service

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Morrison → Morrison

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09LA355

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance with terrain after clearing an obstacle during an agricultural application pass.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was conducting an agricultural application pass at the time of the accident. A witness stated that the airplane pulled up over a house, located about mid-field, during a spray run. The witness commented that the airplane pulled up higher than others he had observed, adding that most airplanes “just skim[ed] the trees” when they flew over the house. He reported that the accident airplane dropped back down after it cleared the house, apparently to resume spraying; however, it impacted the ground. The airplane bounced once before settling back down and sliding to a stop. A postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any failures or malfunctions consistent with a preimpact failure. The pilot had about 200 hours of agricultural application experience the previous season. However, he had recently started flying the accident airplane, which was about 15 knots faster in spray runs than the airplane the pilot had flown the previous season. The pilot had accumulated about 28 hours in the accident airplane. Postmortem toxicology testing on the pilot’s blood was consistent with use of marijuana and propoxyphene, a prescription narcotic painkiller. However, the source of the blood was not specified. Accordingly, a reliable estimate could not be made of the time of last use or the probability of impairment due to either substance. The pilot had not indicated the use of any medication or illegal drugs or the presence of any medical condition at the time of his most recent medical certificate application.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.