Aero Commander 100-180 accident near Ocracoke, North Carolina, August 11, 1995
On August 11, 1995 at about 8:10 pm local time, a Aero Commander 100-180, registered N4066X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ocracoke, North Carolina (Billy Mitchel airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A SHATTERED WINDSHIELD WHICH PRECLUDED MAINTAINING LEVEL FLIGHT DUE TO INCREASED AERODYNAMIC DRAG.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 11, 1995 · about 8:10 pm local time
- Place
- Ocracoke, North Carolina · Billy Mitchel
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 3 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aero Commander 100-180 · all 100-180s on the register
- Registration
- N4066X · registry record · serial 5166
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While in cruise flight over marshy terrain, the center portion of the aircraft's windshield imploded, forcing open the cabin door. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude and could not glide to dry land, therefore he elected to force land in the salt marsh. During the Landing roll, the aircraft nosed over. According to the passengers, when they boarded the airplane they noted that the windscreen was cracked. However, the crack was adjacent to a door post, not the center of the windscreen. Initially, the pilot believed that the airplane had been struck by a bird. Postaccident examination of the wreckage did not reveal any evidence of a bird strike. A similar windscreen implosion occurrence, involving the same make and model airplane, was located in the FAA's Service Difficulty Reports. The report stated that during level flight the upper half of the windshield broke away, first inward, then the pilot pushed it outward. Aircraft control was affected, and a forced landing was accomplished, without causing substantial damage.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,000 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 95 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 17,900 as pilot in command; 3,000 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,189 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 5, 1994; 89 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,500 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A2F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PGV Greenville NC at 7:00 pm
- Destination: 8W5
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 6, 3,000 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 15 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,900 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:00 pm from MQI, 40 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N4066X the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.