Aero Commander 690A accident near Little Rock, Arkansas, May 17, 1988
On May 17, 1988 at about 10:32 am local time, a Aero Commander 690A, registered N660RB, was destroyed in an accident near Little Rock, Arkansas (Adams Field). 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 17, 1988 · about 10:32 am local time
- Place
- Little Rock, Arkansas · Adams Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aero Commander 690A · all 690As on the register
- Registration
- N660RB · no longer on the register · serial 11305
- 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 PLT HAD JUST RTRND FM VACATION IN THE BAHAMAS BFR STARTING A FLT FM LITTLE ROCK TO ATLANTA WITH AN INTERMEDIATE STOPAT MEMPHIS. THIS ITINERARY WAS FLWD BY A RTRN FLT TO LITTLE ROCK VIA A REVERSE ROUTING. WITNESSES RPRTD THE PLT SAID HE HAD ONLY 2 HRS OF SLEEP BFR DEPG LITTLE ROCK & THAT HE WAS REALLY TIRED. ALSO, COMPANY PSNL NOTED THE PLT LOOKED 'EXTREMELY TIRED' & WAS 'REALLY DRAGGING' PRIOR TO THE LAST LEG OF THE FLT FM MEMPHIS TO LITTLE ROCK. ACCORDING TO ATC PSNL, THE FLT WAS ROUTINE UNTIL THE ACFT WAS ARRIVING AT LITTLE ROCK. DRG ARRIVAL, THE PLT WAS CLRD TO DSCND FM 7000' TO 2000' AT HIS DISCRETION FOR A VISUAL APCH TO RWY 22. AT 0522 CDT, THE PLT RPRTD THE ARPT IN SIGHT & WAS CLRD FOR A VISUAL APCH. ABT 4 MIN LATER, HE AGAIN RPRTD THE ARPT IN SIGHT & WAS CLRD TO LAND. AT 1031, RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST & THE ACFT CRASHED ABT 4 MI WEST OF THE ARPT. INITIAL IMPACT WAS IN AN OPEN FIELD WHILE DSCNDG IN A RELATIVELY LEVEL ATTITUDE. THE ACFT BCM AIRBORNE FOR ABOUT 3/4 MI, THEN CRASHED OUT OF CTL IN THE ARKANSAS RIVER.
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, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,410 hours in all; 1,562 in this make and model; 140 in the last 90 days; 5,700 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,577 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, May 13, 1988; 69 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,000 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Airesearch TPE-331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MEM Memphis TN at 10:50 am
- Destination: LIT Little Rock AR
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 22, 7,173 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 060° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:57 am from LIT, 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 N660RB 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.