ATL89FA054 · Aero Commander 720
Commuter Craft Aero Commander 720 · Accident: total loss of engine power (non-mechanical) on approach
From Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL) to McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS)
Narrative check · The NTSB narrative appears to contradict this record's departure or destination. Values are shown as recorded, not corrected; compare with the narrative.
Event
- NTSB case
- ATL89FA054
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
- Completed
- API-reported fatalities
- 2 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- 0
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- General aviation
- WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
- Instrument Meteorological Cond
Aero Commander 720
- Aircraft type
- Aero Commander 720
- Category
- Airplane
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- N120G
- Operator
- Commuter Craft
- Onboard fatalities
- Unknown
- Route Possible conflict
- From Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Fort Lauderdale, FLTo McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS), Alcoa, TN
- Aircraft age
- Not recorded
- Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
- Part 91: General Aviation
- Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
- Approach · IFR initial approach
- First occurrenceThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
- Total loss of engine power (non-mechanical)
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Destroyed
Cause areas
- Induction air control/system › Ice
- Pilot in command › Emergency procedure, improper
- Pilot in command › In-flight planning/decision, poor
Approximate · Coordinates as recorded by the NTSB; no uncertainty radius is established.
NTSB narrative
AFTER ENCOUNTERING ICING CONDITIONS IN FLIGHT AND EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS MAINTAINING ALTITUDES AND HEADINGS, THE PILOT ELECTED TO DIVERT FROM HIS PLANNED DESTINATION OF DAYTON, OH TO KNOXVILLE, TN. WHILE ON FINAL APPROACH AFTER DESCENDING 1300 FT BELOW MINIMUM PROCEDURE TURN ALTITUDE FOLLOWED BY BEING TOLD THE AIRCRAFT WAS WELL ABOVE THE GLIDESLOPE, ATC INSTRUCTED THE PILOT TO MAINTAIN 3000 FT. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, ATC REPORTED THE MODE C INDICATED 1900. THE PILOT RESPONDED WITH 'ENGINE QUIT'. THE AIRCRAFT CRASHED IN A PASTURE ABOUT 1 MILE FROM THE AIRPORT. THE INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS NOT EQUIPPED TO OPERATE IN ICING CONDITIONS. THE EVIDENCE INDICATED THAT THE FLAPS AND LANDING GEAR WERE EXTENDED. APPROXIMATELY 40 LBS OF COCAINE WERE FOUND ONBOARD THE AIRCRAFT. THE TOX REPORT FOR THE PILOT DISCLOSED .05 MG/L BENZOYLECGONITE (COCAINE METABOLITE) IN HIS BLOOD. THE PILOT HAD RECEIVED A WEATHER BRIEFING WHICH INCLUDED A FREEZING LEVEL AT 7000 FT AND FILED A FLIGHT PLAN REQUESTING A CRUISING ALTITUDE OF 14000 FT.
Verbatim NTSB analysis from the NTSB dataset
Sources
NTSB record ATL89FA054
- Event ID
- 20001213X27372
- Case number
- ATL89FA054
- Dataset
- historical-pre2008
- Source SHA-256
- 89e2df6d848e7ab3b42e7d7c7a03ff403303057a26ca04c95b3ea67201c3ce74
Source notes (4)
- Unreviewed is an editorial label, not an investigation status. API-sourced is not report-checked or human-reviewed. Explicit event totals are used without summing aircraft injury tables; onboard allocation is withheld. Unknown values remain unknown. The operation category is mapped from the NTSB-reported FAR part and has not been reviewed.
- Filled from the NTSB case API where the bulk record had no value: investigation status. Values present in the bulk record are kept.
- The date is the local date, which is the same as the UTC date the NTSB stores.
- API snapshot SHA-256: 4e69954d85fd509d9662eec6e31589fef516ead8d56c685fc5a7e302ffe696f4; retrieved 2026-09-21T03:27:38.974Z.