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| Date: | Wednesday 27 January 1971 |
| Time: | 19:55 |
| Type: | Aero Commander 1121 Jet Commander |
| Owner/operator: | Cousin Properties |
| Registration: | N400CP |
| MSN: | 30 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1965 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Lake Champlain, VT -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Executive |
| Departure airport: | Burlington International Airport, VT (BTV/KBTV) |
| Providence Airport, RI (PVD/KPVD) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On January 27, 1971, about 1955 eastern standard time, an Aero Commander 1121 airplane, N400CP, was destroyed when it impacted Lake Champlain, Vermont. The two pilots and 3 passengers were presumed fatally injured. The airplane was operated by Cousins Property as business/executive flight.
The airplane departed under an instrument flight rules flight plan from the Burlington International Airport (BTV), Burlington, Vermont, from runway 33 about 1952 local. The destination was Providence Airport (PVD), Providence, Rhode Island.
According to air traffic controller recollection, the airplane climbed on runway heading, turned left to the west, then south. Radar contact was lost a few minutes after departure over Lake Champlain, Vermont.
Following the accident, no significant portions of the wreckage were located despite an 8-day search. The search was suspended due to the winter weather conditions.
An additional search in the spring of 1971 was commenced, however, this search also discovered no significant portions of the wreckage. The original NTSB report concluded that the wreckage was likely located in Lake Champlain near the Four Brothers Islands.
On May 19, 2024, multiple private organizations located a target with a high resolution EdgeTech 4125-P side scan sonar system.
On May 25, 2024, an underwater submersible recorded video images of what appeared to be several large fragments of aircraft wreckage. The footage was provided to the investigation by GK Consulting. Review of the underwater drone video found multiple components that were consistent with fragments and parts from an Aero Commander 1121. The wreckage was destroyed and observed in the video in a highly fragmented condition. As part of this investigation, the NTSB was not provided physical wreckage to examine nor is the investigation aware of activities to surface the wreckage at the time of this writing.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "Undetermined."
Accident investigation:
|
Sources:
NTSB
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=132624
Bangor Daily News - Feb 12, 1971
https://www.necn.com/news/local/lake-champlain-plane-wreck/3244839/
https://eu.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2017/11/18/history-space-mystery-missing-jet/107822054/
Location
Images:
Photo: : Overview of the reported flight path based upon the original investigation and the newly discovered wreckage approximate location. (NTSB)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 07-Jun-2024 14:24 | Anon | Updated [Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 07-Jun-2024 14:28 | ASN | Updated [Source, ] |
| 12-Jun-2024 17:08 | Anon. | Updated [Date, ] |
| 12-Jun-2024 22:38 | Anon. | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 13-Jun-2024 19:18 | jtbernier | Updated [Category, ] |
| 14-Jun-2024 11:45 | zagato125 | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 14-Jun-2024 11:46 | ASN | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 14-Jun-2024 11:46 | ASN | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 18-Oct-2024 17:31 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Accident report, Photo, ] |
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