Gulfstream COMMANDER 690A incident near St. Paul, Minnesota, December 29, 1988
On December 29, 1988 at about 1:00 pm local time, a Gulfstream COMMANDER 690A, registered N690MF, was involved in an incident near St. Paul, Minnesota. 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 visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. 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
- December 29, 1988 · about 1:00 pm local time
- Place
- St. Paul, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Gulfstream COMMANDER 690A COMMANDER
- Registration
- N690MF · registry record · serial 11103
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PIC HAD PREFLTD HIS COMMANDER TURBOPROP AND PREPARED FOR TAKEOFF FM THE ST. PAUL ARPT. DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL JUST AS THE ACFT WAS ROTATED TO TAKEOFF ATTITUDE, THE RT ENG FAILED. THE PIC EASED THE ACFT BACK TO THE RWY, REDUCED PWR AND CAME TO A STOP ON THE REMAINING RWY. WITH THE REMAINING ENG THE PIC TAXIED BACK TO THE RAMP AREA. INSP OF THE ENG REVEALED A FAILED PLENUM CHAMBER, WITH A LARGE TEAR IN THE INCONEL 718 SHEET METAL. METALLURGICAL EXAM OF THE PLENUM REVEALED MULTIPLE FATIGUE FRACTURE AREAS IN THE WELDED SEAMS. THE ENG WAS SUBSEQUENTLY INSPCTD, A SERVICEABLE PLENUM WAS USED AS A REPLACEMENT AND THE ENGINE WAS RETURNED TO SERVICE.
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
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,014 hours in all; 486 in this make and model; 251 in the last 90 days; 79 in the last 30 days; 3,956 as pilot in command; 1,228 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,331 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 13, 1988; 31 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,300 lb
- Seats: 6
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331-5251K (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Great Western Aviation
The flight
- Destination: FSD Sioux Falls SD
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 120° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: ovct at 20,000 ft
- Temperature: 5°F (-15°C), dew point 10°F (-12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 12:51 pm from STP
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 N690MF 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.