Aero Commander 680FL accident near Grand Island, Nebraska, May 9, 1986
On May 9, 1986 at about 7:38 am local time, a Aero Commander 680FL, registered N1198Z, was destroyed in an accident near Grand Island, Nebraska (Central Nebraska Regional airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. 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
- May 9, 1986 · about 7:38 am local time
- Place
- Grand Island, Nebraska · Central Nebraska Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aero Commander 680FL · all 680FLs on the register
- Registration
- N1198Z · registry record · serial 1608-116
- 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 TWIN ENG ACFT CRASHED AND BURNED 4 MILES NORTH OF THE ARPT WHILE ON AN INSTRUMENT APCH. THE PLT HAD TRANSMITTED THAT HE HAD AN ENGINE PROBLEM. THE #5 CYLINDER WAS FOUND DETACHED FROM THE LEFT ENGINE BUT THE LEFT PROPELLER WAS NOT FEATHERED. AN ENGINE TEARDOWN REVEALED EVIDENCE TO INDICATE THE #5 CYLINDER ATTACHMENTS WERE NOT PROPERLY TORQUED. NO PREIMPACT FAILURE COULD BE FOUND WITH THE RIGHT ENGINE. THE RIGHT PROPELLER WAS FOUND IN FEATHERED POSITION.
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, 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: 5,522 hours in all; 520 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,340 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 2, 1986
- Maximum gross weight: 8,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IGSO-540-B1A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Suburban Air Freight,Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: OMA Omaha NE at 7:00 am
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 160° at 16 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,000 ft; not recorded at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 59°F (15°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:00 am from GRI, 4 miles away
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 N1198Z 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.