History of Flight
On March 1, 2013, at about 1545 mountain standard time, an Aero Commander 500B, registration N93AA, experienced a loss of power in both engines shortly after takeoff from Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (KBJC), Broomfield, Colorado. The pilot executed a gear-up forced landing on a fairway at the Omni Interlocken Golf Course. The airline transport pilot and one passenger sustained minor injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight was operated as a Part 91 test flight by American East Airways Corporation, under visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight had departed KBJC about 1540.
The pilot reported that during preflight, the fuel gauge indicated 65 gallons, but the fuel system design precluded a visual inspection of the fuel level. After takeoff, as the pilot reduced to climb power, the left engine began to surge and lose power. He initiated a left turn back toward the airport and advised the tower of an intended single-engine straight-in landing. When he lowered the landing gear, the right engine also began to surge and lose power. He declared an emergency and, realizing insufficient altitude and power to reach KBJC, retracted the landing gear and performed a no-flap gear-up landing on the golf course.
Pilot Information
The 69-year-old pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with multiengine land rating, commercial privileges in single-engine land/sea and glider, and type ratings in the Boeing 737 and Dornier Alpha Jet. He also held flight instructor and ground instructor certificates. His first-class medical certificate, dated December 3, 2012, required corrective lenses for distant vision and glasses for near/intermediate vision. He estimated over 15,000 total flight hours, with more than 414 hours in the Aero Commander.
Aircraft Information
N93AA, serial number 500B-1296-111, was a 1964 Aero Commander 500B powered by two Lycoming IO-540-E1B5 fuel-injected engines rated at 290 horsepower each. An annual inspection on February 13, 2013, recorded total airframe time at 10,020.6 hours and Hobbs meter at 586.7 hours. The left engine had been replaced with an overhauled unit (serial L-8807-48) that had 5,391.0 total hours before overhaul. The right engine (serial L-11118-48) had been overhauled on April 18, 2012, and accrued 167.6 hours since overhaul. Both propellers were Hartzell HC-A3VK-2B models.
Wreckage and Impact
The fuselage structure forward of the wing attach point was bent upward, with vertical deformation along the lower fuselage. The outer three feet of the left wing were crushed back to the spar, and the left propeller blades were bent.
Additional Information
Post-accident, an FAA inspector applied battery power, and the fuel gauges displayed 65 gallons. The salvage company reported draining approximately half a gallon of 100LL aviation gasoline from the fuel system. According to the Aero Commander 500B Maintenance Manual, the fuel system comprises five interconnected rubberized bladders with a total capacity of 150–159 U.S. gallons. The fuel quantity gauge is marked from empty to 135 gallons; capacity above that is not indicated.