Aero Commander 500 N516DT

Summary

On 27 March 2020 at about 04:15 local time, a Aero Commander 500 registered N516DT, operated by Central Airlines Inc, was involved in an accident near Opalocka, Florida, 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

27 March 2020 at 04:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Opalocka, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Miami-Opa Locka Executive (OPF)

Coordinates

25.9072, -80.2831

Aircraft

Aero Commander 500

Registration

N516DT

Category

Airplane

Year built

1965

Engines

2

Operator

Central Airlines Inc

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tampa → Miami

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

ERA20CA148

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to extend the landing gear due to distraction and his delayed go-around, which allowed the airplane to get too low and contact the runway with the landing gear retracted.

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 descent to final, he began the GUMPS checklist. As he turned on the fuel tanks, he picked up interference on the radios. After fixing the radio situation, he continued the checklist. During the landing flare, he noticed that the "runway sight picture" seemed lower than normal. As he noticed this, he looked at the landing gear indicator, and the landing gear warning horn simultaneously sounded, so he initiated a go-around. While climbing to traffic pattern altitude, he noticed that he had failed to extend the landing gear. He added that he had not heard or felt the airplane contact the runway before the go-around. The pilot subsequently landed without incident and noted no damage during a cursory postflight inspection. He then departed and landed at another airport. Subsequently, he performed a more thorough postflight inspection of the airplane, during which he noticed that the marker beacon antenna was shaved off and that the lower fuselage of the airplane had sustained substantial damage consistent with ground contact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.