Aero Commander 500B accident near Hagerstown, Indiana, December 12, 1986
On December 12, 1986 at about 8:24 am local time, a Aero Commander 500B, registered N116CA, was destroyed in an accident near Hagerstown, Indiana. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 12, 1986 · about 8:24 am local time
- Place
- Hagerstown, Indiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aero Commander 500B · all 500Bs on the register
- Registration
- N116CA · registry record · serial 500B-1133-75
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT WAS ON THE FOURTH LEG OF A NIGHT CARGO FLIGHT CRUISING AT APPROXIMATELY 500' AGL ENROUTE TO MT. VERNON, IL, WHEN THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK SOME TREES AND SUBSEQUENTLY COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND. THE ENGINES AND PROPELLERS WERE BOTH TORN DOWN AND TESTED AND NO EVIDENCE OF MALFUNCTION WAS DISCOVERED. THE PILOT STATED HE DID NOT RECALL THE CRASH SEQUENCE AT ALL. THE PILOT WAS WEARING A 'WALKMAN' RADIO AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. HE STATED IT WAS TO HELP KEEP HIM AWAKE, BECAUSE HE HAD FALLEN ASLEEP AT TIMES IN THE PAST WHILE FLYING NIGHT CARGO.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,150 hours in all; 200 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,034 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 30, 1986; 118 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-E1A5 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CAK Akron OH
- Destination: CPS East St. Louis IL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 022° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 8,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 27°F (-3°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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 N116CA 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.