Aero Commander 500-B accident near Emporia, Kansas, August 7, 1986
On August 7, 1986 at about 11:35 am local time, a Aero Commander 500-B, registered N184KC, was substantially damaged in an accident near Emporia, Kansas. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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
- August 7, 1986 · about 11:35 am local time
- Place
- Emporia, Kansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Aero Commander 500-B · all 500-Bs on the register
- Registration
- N184KC · no longer on the register · serial 1227-103
- 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
THE PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS CRUISING AT 6,000 FEET IN IMC WITH LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN AND TURBULENCE WHEN HE HEARD A BANG FOLLOWED BY THE LEFT ENGINE LOSING POWER. THE ENGINE WAS SHUT DOWN, THE PROPELLER FEATHERED AND ATC WAS NOTIFIED. ATC CLEARED, AND THE PILOT COMPLIED WITH DESCENT TO 3,000 FEET. THE PILOT FURTHER STATED THAT HE COULD NOT MAINTAIN ALTITUDE WITH THE OPERATING ENGINE AT FULL POWER AND HE ATTEMPTED A PRECAUTIONARY LANDING ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAY 35, DESCENDING 200 T0 300 FEET PER MINUTE AT AN AIRSPEED OF 98 M.P.H. (85 KTS.), ALL THE WHILE TRYING TO RESTART THE LEFT ENGINE. BECAUSE OF LOW VISIBILITY, RAIN, AND VEHICULAR TRAFFIC THE PILOT ABANDONED THE APPROACH TO THE HIGHWAY AND LANDED WHEELS UP. IN A PASTURE. ENGINE EXAMINATION AND RUNUP DID NOT REVEAL ANY DISCREPENCIES.
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
- Flight time: 6,338 hours in all; 900 in this make and model; 165 in the last 90 days; 6,036 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,410 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, September 4, 1985; 80 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: MKC Kansas City MO at 11:17 am
- Destination: ICT Wichita KS
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 16 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 800 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:52 am from ICT, 86 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.
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.