Aero Commander 680FL accident near Lester, Washington, December 26, 1992
On December 26, 1992 at about 5:37 am local time, a Aero Commander 680FL, registered N111MN, was destroyed in an accident near Lester, Washington. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). 1 person was killed. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
UNDETERMINED.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 26, 1992 · about 5:37 am local time
- Place
- Lester, Washington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Aero Commander 680FL · all 680FLs on the register
- Registration
- N111MN · no longer on the register · serial 1806-150
- 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
AFTER DEPARTURE, THE AIRPLANE INTERCEPTED AIRWAY V-2, AND APPEARED TO CLIMB NORMALLY UNTIL REACHING 8300 FT (9000 ASSIGNED) WHILE TRACKING APRX 110 DEG MAG. RADAR ANALYSIS SHOWED THE AIRPLANE AT 128 KIAS WHEN IT ABRUPTLY TURNED LEFT 30 DEG AND THEN APPEARED TO RECOVER. VOICE COMMUNICATION DURING THIS EVENT WAS NORMAL WITH NO CHANGE IN THE PILOT'S LEVEL OF ANXIETY. IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER, THE HEADING CHANGED OVER 90 DEG TO THE LEFT (NORTHBOUND), AND A MAXIMUM 6750 FPM RATE OF DESCENT DEVELOPED BEFORE THE HEADING STABILIZED AND THE DESCENT SLOWED. THE AIRPLANE'S GROUND IMPACT SITE WAS APRX 1 NM SW OF THE LAST RADAR TARGET. WRECKAGE DISTRIBUTION WAS ROUGHLY PARALLEL TO V-2. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE MOUNTAINSIDE IN A STEEP NOSE LOW, LEFT WING DOWN ATTITUDE. THE ENGINES, PROPELLERS/GOVERNORS WERE DISASSEMBLED AND INSPECTED WITH NO EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION. EXAM OF THE LEFT PROPELLER INDICATED LOW POWER ON IMPACT. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF SIGNIFICANT ICING/TURBULENCE.
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; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,108 hours in all; 138 in this make and model; 151 in the last 90 days; 62 in the last 30 days; 2,629 as pilot in command; 1,126 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11,219 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, December 1, 1992; 42 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-720-B1B (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Corporate Air
The flight
- Departed from: SEA Seattle WA at 5:21 am
- Destination: GEG Spokane WA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 180° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 900 ft; not recorded at 900 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:50 am from SEA, 35 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number SEA93FA046.