Aero Commander 680FL accident near Soda Springs, Idaho, April 9, 1988
On April 9, 1988 at about 3:25 am local time, a Aero Commander 680FL, registered N291NC, was destroyed in an accident near Soda Springs, Idaho. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 2 people were killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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
- April 9, 1988 · about 3:25 am local time
- Place
- Soda Springs, Idaho · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Aero Commander 680FL · all 680FLs on the register
- Registration
- N291NC · no longer on the register · serial 1461 86
- 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
WHILE EN ROUTE ON A NIGHT IFR CARGO FLT, THE PLT REQD & WAS CLRD FOR A DSCNT FROM AN IFR CRUISE ALT OF 16,000 FT TO PROCEED VFR-ON-TOP. THE LAST TRANSMISSION FROM THE ACFT WAS AT 2106 WHEN THE PLT ACKNOWLEDGED THAT HE WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE TERRAIN ALONG THE ROUTE. AT 2121:51 MDT, RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST AFTER THE ACFT MADE AN APRX 360 DEGREE LEFT TURN & DESCENDED THRU 13,800'. SHORTLY AFTER THAT, THE CONTROLLER TRIED TO CALL THE PLT TO INFORM HIM THAT RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST, BUT WAS UNABLE TO MAKE RADIO CONTACT. LATER, WRECKAGE OF THE ACFT WAS FOUND WHERE IT HAD CRASHED ABOUT 2 MI SW OF WERE RADAR CONTACT WAS LOST. THE WRECKAGE WAS SCATTERED OVER AN AREA OF MORE THAN ONE MILE. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THE LEFT WING & RGT HORIZONTAL STABILIZER HAD SEPD UPWARD FROM OVERLOAD. NO PRE-ACDNT FATIGUE OR PART FAILURE/MALFUNCTION WAS FND. WX RPRTS & PIREPS INDCD MODERATE TURBC & TOWERING CUMULUS CLOUDS IN THE AREA. APRX 60 MI WEST AT POCATELLO, ID, SNOW SHOWERS WERE RPRTD; 2 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW FELL ON THE WRECKAGE OVERNIGHT.
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: 5,013 hours in all; 50 in this make and model; 157 in the last 90 days; 34 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,873 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, March 16, 1988; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-720-B1B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: BIL Billings MT at 2:03 am
- Destination: SLC Salt Lake City UT
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Sky: broken clouds; not recorded
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 am from PIH, 60 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.