Aircraft Incident/Accident Report


Lander, Wyoming 82520
Thursday, December 23, 2010 16:53 MST

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NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On December 24, 2010, the wreckage of a Aero Commander 114B, N799RS, was located by Civil Air Patrol aerial searchers in the Wind River mountain range, about 20 miles southwest of Lander, Wyoming. Information indicated that the airplane departed Jasper County-Bell Airport (JAS) Jasper, Texas, and was destined for Jackson Hole Airport (JAC) Jackson, Wyoming. The owner/pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. Jackson, Wyoming was located about 1,100 miles northwest of Jasper, Texas. The day and time of the accident were unknown. Efforts to determine specific information about the flight, such as the date(s), route, and fuel stops, have also been unsuccessful. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, and no flight plan was filed. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating; he did not hold an instrument rating. The airplane was first registered to him in August 2007. It was manufactured in 1998, and was equipped with a non-turbocharged Lycoming IO-540 series engine. No overdue- or missing-aircraft reports regarding the airplane were received. The search for the airplane was prompted by reports of Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) signals received by overflying aircraft; the first signal was reported to the FAA Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) at Salt Lake City, Utah at 1653 Mountain Standard Time (MST) on December 23, 2010. According to personnel from Salt Lake ARTCC (ZLC), no air traffic services were provided to the airplane. According to Lockheed Martin Flight Service (LMFS) personnel, LMFS had no records of any contacts regarding the airplane from November 12, 2010, which was the furthest back that they maintained records. An LMFS check with both Direct User Access Terminal Services (DUATS) providers indicated no records of any services for the airplane or pilot from December 12, 2010, which was the furthest back that they maintained records. The wreckage was located on a rocky ledge at an elevation of approximately 11,700 feet. On December 25, personnel from the Fremont County Sheriff's Office and the FAA flew by helicopter, and then hiked, to the accident site to document the scene, recover the victims and relevant documentation, and examine the wreckage. The forward fuselage and cabin exhibited significant crush damage. Fuel was detected in the right wing. The tailcone and empennage were relatively intact. When weather conditions permit, the wreckage will be recovered for detailed examination.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
Type of EventAccident 
Event Date12/23/2010 
Event Day of the WeekThursday 
Time of Event1653 
Event Time ZoneMountain Standard Time 
Event CityLander 
Event StateWYOMING 
Event Country-- 
Zipcode of the event site82520 
Event Date Year2010 
Event Date Month12 
MidAir Collision IndicatorNo 
On Ground Collision occurred ?No 
Event Location Latitude423535N 
Event Location Longitude1085854W 
Event Location Airport-- 
Event Location Nearest Airport ID-- 
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport-- 
Distance from airport in statute miles-- 
Degrees magnetic from airport-- 
Airport Elevation-- 
Weather Briefing Completeness-- 
Investigator's weather sourceUnknown 
Time of the weather observation 
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees)-- 
Weather Observation Facility ID-- 
Elevation of weather observation facility-- 
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?)-- 
Time Zone of the weather observation-- 
Lighting Conditions-- 
Lowest Ceiling Height-- 
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height-- 
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions-- 
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling-- 
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet)-- 
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles)-- 
Visibility (Statute Miles) -- 
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius)-- 
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit)-- 
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic)-- 
Variable Wind Indicator-- 
Wind Speed (knots)-- 
Wind Velocity Indicator -- 
Wind Gust Indicator-- 
Wind Gust (knots) -- 
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) -- 
Density Altitude (feet)-- 
Intensity of Precipitation-- 
METAR weather report -- 
Event Highest InjuryFatal 
On Ground, Fatal Injuries-- 
On Ground, Minor Injuries-- 
On Ground, Serious Injuries-- 
Injury Total Fatal
Injury Total Minor-- 
Injury Total None-- 
Injury Total Serious-- 
Injury Total All
Investigating AgencyNTSB 
NTSB Docket Number (internal use)-- 
NTSB Notification SourceFAA Northwest Mountain ROC  
NTSB Notification Date-- 
NTSB Notification Time-- 
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information-- 
Date of most recent change to recordDec 29 2010 1:37PM 
User who most recently changed recordstam 
Basic weather conditions-- 
FAA District Office-- 
Aircraft Involved
Aircraft #1
Aircraft Registration NumberN799RS 
NTSB NumberWPR11FA082 
Missing Aircraft Indicator-- 
Federal Aviation Reg. PartPart 91: General Aviation 
Type of Flight Plan filedUnknown 
Flight plan Was Activated?No 
DamageSubstantial 
Aircraft FireNone 
Aircraft ExplosionNone 
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full NameAERO COMMANDER 
Aircraft Model114B 
Aircraft Series Identifier-- 
Aircraft Serial Number14658 
Certified Max Gross Weight-- 
Aircraft CategoryAirplane 
Aircraft Registration Class-- 
Aircraft is a homebuilt?No 
Flight Crew Seats-- 
Cabin Crew Seats-- 
Passenger Seats-- 
Total number of seats on the aircraft
Number of Engines
Fixed gear or retractable gearFixed 
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection-- 
Date of Last Inspection-- 
Airframe hours since last inspection-- 
Airframe Hours-- 
ELT InstalledYes 
ELT ActivatedYes 
ELT Aided Location of Event SiteYes 
ELT Type-- 
Aircraft Owner NameCondor Aero LLC 
Aircraft Owner Street Address-- 
Aircraft Owner CityJasper 
Aircraft Owner StateTX 
Aircraft Owner CountryUSA  
Aircraft Owner Zipcode75951 
Operator is an individual?Yes 
Operator NameRalph L. Day Jr 
Operator Same as Owner?No 
Operator Is Doing Business As-- 
Operator Address Same as Owner?No 
Operator Street Address-- 
Operator CitySam Rayburn 
Operator StateTX 
Operator CountryUSA  
Operator Zip code75951 
Operator Code-- 
Owner has at least one certificateNone 
Other Operator of large aircraft?No 
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation-- 
Operator Certificate Number-- 
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not-- 
Indicates Domestic or International Flight-- 
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail-- 
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary)Personal 
Second Pilot on BoardNo 
Departure Point Same as EventNo 
Departure Airport CodeJAS  
Departure CityJasper 
Departure StateTX 
Departure CountryUSA 
Departure Time-- 
Departure Time Zone-- 
Destination Same as Local Flt-- 
Destination Airport CodeJAC  
Destination CityJackson 
Destination StateWY 
Destination CountryUSA 
Specific Phase of Flight-- 
Report sent to ICAO?-- 
Evacuation occurred-- 
Date of most recent change to recordDec 29 2010 1:25PM 
User who most recently changed recordstam 
Since inspection or accident-- 
Event Location Runway Number and LocationN/A 
Runway Length-- 
Runway Width-- 
Sight Seeing flightNo 
Air Medical FlightNo 
Medical Flight--