Aero Commander 690 N9175N

Summary

On 1 December 2016 at about 00:30 local time, a Aero Commander 690 registered N9175N, operated by Air West Inc, was involved in an accident near Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. One person was 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

1 December 2016 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Scottsdale, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Scottsdale (SDL)

Coordinates

33.6136, -111.9214

Aircraft

Aero Commander 690

Registration

N9175N

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

2

Operator

Air West Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Safford → Scottsdale

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

WPR17LA030

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s loss of directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in the runway excursion onto the rock-covered runway safety area.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during the landing roll, he commanded reverse thrust and lightly applied brake pressure. While he was reaching for the condition levers to bring the propellers back to low rpm, the airplane suddenly veered to the right. The pilot applied left braking action and adjusted the engines to low rpm, but the airplane continued to veer toward the right side of the runway and a runway sign. The pilot reported that he could have either gotten more aggressive with the corrective actions and hope to avoid striking the sign, or allow the airplane to exit the runway onto what he thought was a hard, smooth surface. The pilot chose to exit the runway surface, and the airplane entered the runway safety area, which had a rock layer that consisted of river rock. The landing gear sunk deep into the rocks, which quickly slowed the airplane to a stop. Several rocks penetrated the fuselage, which resulted in substantial damage. A postaccident examination of the steering and brake system revealed no evidence of a mechanical failure or malfunction that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.