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| Date: | Saturday 9 February 1985 |
| Time: | 12:48 |
| Type: |  Aero Commander 680F |
| Owner/operator: | Mercy Flights |
| Registration: | N233W |
| MSN: | 680F1284129 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3535 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IGSO-540-B1A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Central Point, OR -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Gold Beach, OR (4S1) |
| Medford, OR (MFR) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
THE PLT REPORTED A LOSS OF POWER ON BOTH ENGS DURING DESCENT TO LAND. APRX 3 MINS PRIOR, TWR GAVE PLT OPTION OF 'STRAIGHT-IN' TO RWY 14 OR REG PATTERN TO RWY 32. THE PLT HESITATED & SAID 'JUST A MINUTE' & TWR OFFERED WIND INFO AS '210 AT 13.' PLT REPLIED, 'KAY.' APRX 1 MIN LATER PLT SAID '33W WILL MAKE A LEFT BASE FOR 14.' TWR CLEARED HIM & DECLARED VISUAL CONTACT. PLT ACKNOWLEDGED '3WHISKEY.' ONE MIN & 54 SECS LATER, PLT DECLARED PWR LOSS & EMERG. TWR ROGERED. SEVEN SECS LATER, PLT SAID 'GONNA HIT IT' FOLLOWED 2 SECS LATER WITH AN UNITELLIGIBLE COMMENT. WITNESSES SAW THE ACFT GLIDING WINGS LVL TOWARD RWY WHEN A LOUD 'REV' WAS HEARD, THE ACFT PITCHED UP & ROLLED LEFT TO AN INVERTED POSITION BEFORE GROUND CONTACT & EXPLOSION. POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION DID NOT DISCLOSE ANY ENG OR FUEL SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. THIS ACFT HAD EXPERIENCED A PWR LOSS AFTER DESCENDING FROM 15500 TO 12000 FT MSL ON 2/2/85 WITH THE SAME PLT AS REPORTED BY THE CO-PLT ON THAT flight. AFTER APRX 1 1/2 MINUTES PWR WAS RESTORED. CAUSE:
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001214X35789
FAA: https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=233W
NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/10/us/around-the-nation-4-are-killed-in-crash-of-ambulance-airplane.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:23 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency, ] |
| 20-Dec-2021 07:00 | SANMJN | Updated [Aircraft type, Phase, Nature, Source, ] |
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