Aero Commander 685 accident near Pine Bluff, Arkansas, July 8, 2000
On July 8, 2000 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Aero Commander 685, registered N1203N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pine Bluff, Arkansas (Grider Field). It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's misjudged flare, which resulted in a hard landing. A contributing factor was the pilot's lack of total experience in the make and model of airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 8, 2000 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Pine Bluff, Arkansas · Grider Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aero Commander 685 · all 685s on the register
- Registration
- N1203N · registry record · serial 12046
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane entered the traffic pattern behind another aircraft, therefore, the pilot extended the downwind leg. Due to the extended downwind, the pilot did not extend the flaps abeam of the touchdown point. The pilot stated that after turning final, the VASI was red over white so he did not extend the flaps, since he was on glide path and the airspeed was 100 knots, which was the recommended speed for final approach. He further stated that 'after touchdown, which was a bit hard, the nose gear collapsed.' Examination of the runway revealed that the airplane touched down on its tail, leaving a 5-foot gouge on the runway. The airplane then touched down on its nose landing gear, leaving a 1,000-foot mark on the runway. The airplane came to a stop upright on the runway. The pilot had accumulated a total flight time of 450 hours, of which 45 hours were in multiengine airplanes, and 6 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane.
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; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 450 hours in all; 6 in this make and model; 166 in the last 90 days; 71 in the last 30 days; 371 as pilot in command; 174 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 9,500 lb
- Seats: 9
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental GTSIO-520K (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 4F7 Prescott AR at 3:00 pm
- Destination: PBF
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 5,998 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:50 pm from PBF
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW00LA203.