Elko Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Elko, Nevada 89801
Tuesady, August 21, 2001 15:03 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Both main landing gear collapsed about 100 feet down the runway on the landing roll. The skid ground off the belly skin and damaged several structural airframe components. One of the observers in the airplane was also a pilot. He observed three green landing gear lights, and he and the pilot both visually checked that the landing gear was down. He observed the pilot maintain one hand on the control yoke and the other on the throttle throughout the landing and landing roll. A physical check of the gear revealed no anomalies and the gear functioned normally when placed on jacks. The actuators functioned properly when checked on a test bench. The Aero Commander uses hydraulic pressure to keep the gear locked, and the landing gear handle has two positions, gear up and gear down.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The main landing gear collapsed for undetemined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/21/2001
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1503
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City ELKO
Event State NEVADA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 89801
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 404930N
Event Location Longitude 1554730W
Event Location Airport ELKO REGIONAL
Event Location Nearest Airport ID EKO
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 5140
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1456 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID EKO
Elevation of weather observation facility 5140
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 0
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.96
Density Altitude (feet) 7854
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14304
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 21 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1523
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 25 2003 11:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-RNO-FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N975AA
NTSB Number LAX01TA284
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed Company VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Aero Commander
Aircraft Model 500S
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 3175
Certified Max Gross Weight 6750
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 6
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Aug 21 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 2
Airframe Hours 3990
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name AVCENTER, INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1483 FLIGHTLINE
Aircraft Owner City POCATELLO
Aircraft Owner State ID
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 83204
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code GAYA
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
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) --
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code EKO
Departure City ELKO
Departure State NV
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1330
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - roll
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Sep 2 2003 3:14PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\HAMG
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 23
Runway Length 7214
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --