Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Chicago Midway Intl Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Chicago, Illinois 60629
Tuesady, November 18, 2014 2:45 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On November 18, 2014, about 0245 central standard time, an Aero Commander model 500 B airplane, N30MB, impacted a residence while attempting to return after takeoff from the Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), Chicago, Illinois. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by Central Airlines, Inc., dba Central Air Southwest, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 as an on-demand cargo charter flight. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which was operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The flight originated from MDW about 0238. The intended destination was the Ohio State University Airport (OSU), Columbus, Ohio.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control data (ATC) revealed that the flight was cleared for takeoff at 0238 from runway 31C, to be followed by a right turn to a heading of 110 degrees. About 2 minutes later, the pilot informed the MDW tower controller that he was having trouble with the left engine and requested to return to the airport. The pilot elected to fly a left-hand traffic pattern and return for a landing on runway 31C. At 0241, the controller cleared the pilot to land as requested.
The initial ATC radar contact was recorded at 0240:34 (hhmm:ss) and located about 0.51 mile west-northwest of the departure threshold of runway 31C. The altitude associated with that data point was about 800 feet mean sea level (msl). The radar data depicted the airplane turning left to become established on a southwest course, paralleling runway 31C on a downwind traffic pattern leg. The final radar data point was recorded at 0242:01 and was located about 0.54 miles south-southwest of the approach threshold of runway 31C; this was about 0.15 miles southwest of the accident site. The altitude associate with the final data point was about 800 feet msl. The accident site was located 0.50 miles southeast of the runway 31C approach threshold.
The airplane impacted a residence, with the forward fuselage coming to rest within the building. The southwest corner of the home was destroyed. Both wings remained attached to the fuselage. The left wing was located outside the building perimeter, with the wing tip resting on the ground. The right wing remained attached to the fuselage, with the outboard portion of the wing extending outside of the building perimeter and over the roof of the adjacent residence. The buildings were separated by approximately 10 feet. The left engine remained attached to the wing, and the left propeller remained attached to the engine. The right engine had separated from the wing and the right propeller had separated from the engine; both were located within the home. The aft fuselage and empennage remained attached to the remainder of the airframe. However, they were dislocated to the right relative to the forward fuselage. The aft fuselage/empennage came to rest on the roof of the adjacent residence. Damage to that home appeared limited to the roof and soffit area at the northeast corner of the structure. The flight control surfaces and wing flaps remained attached to the airframe. The landing gear was in the extended position when observed at the accident site. The forward fuselage and wings were oriented on an approximate magnetic heading of 030 degrees; the aft fuselage and empennage were oriented on an approximate magnetic heading of 005 degrees.
FAA records indicated that the pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with single engine land, multi-engine land, and instrument airplane ratings. The certificate included type ratings for CE-500 and LR-Jet airplanes. The pilot also held a flight instructor certificate with single, multi-engine, and instrument airplane ratings. He was issued a first class airman medical certificate with a restriction for corrective lenses on November 12, 2014. On the medical certificate application, the pilot reported a total flight time of 1,374 hours, with 303 hours flown within the preceding 6 months.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 11/18/2014 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 245 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Chicago |
| Event State | ILLINOIS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 60629 |
| Event Date Year | 2014 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 414628N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0874417E |
| Event Location Airport | Chicago Midway Intl |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | MDW |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 1 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 130 |
| Airport Elevation | 620 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 253 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 310 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MDW |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 620 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 1 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Night |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 1900 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -11 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -15 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 250 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 13 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 23 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.99 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | NTSB ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 22 2014 9:44PM |
| User who most recently changed record | sort |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N30MB |
| NTSB Number | CEN15FA048 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | AERO COMMANDER |
| Aircraft Model | 500 B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1453-160 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 6750 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | 0 |
| Passenger Seats | 0 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 2 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Central Airlines Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 4002 West 57th Street |
| Aircraft Owner City | FAIRWAY |
| Aircraft Owner State | KS |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 66205 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Central Airlines Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 411 Lou Holland Drive |
| Operator City | Kansas City |
| Operator State | MO |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 64116 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| 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 | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Cargo |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | MDW |
| Departure City | Chicago |
| Departure State | IL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 238 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | OSU |
| Destination City | Ohio State Univ |
| Destination State | OH |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 22 2014 9:44PM |
| User who most recently changed record | sort |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 31C |
| Runway Length | 6522 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |