Aero Commander 500 incident near Everglades City, Florida, March 7, 1993
On March 7, 1993 at about 7:15 pm local time, a Aero Commander 500, registered N3836C, suffered minor damage in an incident near Everglades City, Florida (Everglades airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PREEXISTING FATIGUE CRACKING OF THE PROPELLER HUB ARM IN THE BEARING RETENTION RADIUS DUE TO POLISHING AND WEAR OF THE RADIUS FROM CONTACT WITH THE SPLIT RINGS, RESULTING IN A PROPELLER BLADE SEPARATING FROM THE PROPELLER HUB ON THE TAKEOFF GROUND RUN, AND SUBSEQUENT ABORTED TAKEOFF.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 7, 1993 · about 7:15 pm local time
- Place
- Everglades City, Florida · Everglades
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 7 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aero Commander 500 · all 500s on the register
- Registration
- N3836C · registry record · serial 500-791
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT-IN-COMMAND ABORTED THE TAKEOFF WHEN A PROPELLER BLADE FROM THE RIGHT ENGINE SEPARATED FROM THE RIGHT PROPELLER SYSTEM. EXAMINATION OF THE PROPELLER HUB BY THE NTSB MATERIALS LABORATORY DIVISION REVEALED THE PROPELLER HUB ARM FAILED DUE TO PREEXISTING FATIGUE CRACKING IN THE BEARING RETENTION RADIUS, FROM POLISHING AND WEAR OF THE RADIUS FROM CONTACT WITH THE SPLIT RINGS.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 8,760 hours in all; 2,333 in this make and model; 41 in the last 90 days; 19 in the last 30 days; 8,560 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,861 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, March 3, 1993; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-540-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Palm Beach Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: X01 at 7:14 pm
- Destination: PBI W. Palm Beach FL
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 15, 2,400 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 6 knots
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:46 pm from FMY, 25 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 5 |
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 N3836C 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.